Sound and Aural Media in Postmodern Literature: Novel Listening (Routledge Studies in Twentieth-Century Literature)

This study examines postmodern literature― including works by Kurt Vonnegut, William Gaddis, Don DeLillo, Philip K. Dick, Ishmael Reed, and Thomas Pynchon ―arguing that one of the formal logics of postmodern fiction is heterophonia: a pluralism of sound. The postmodern novel not only bears earwitness to a crucial period in American aural history, but it also offers a critique of the American soundscape by rebroadcasting extant technological discourses. Working chronologically through four audio transmission technologies of the twentieth century (the player piano, radio, television audio, and Muzak installations), St. Clair charts the tendency of ever-proliferating audio streams to become increasingly subsumed as background sound. The postmodern novel attends specifically to this background sound, warning that inattention to the increasingly complex sonic backdrop allows for ever more sophisticated techniques of aural manipulation―from advertising jingles to mood-altering ambient sound. Building upon interdisciplinary work from the emerging field of sound culture studies, this book ultimately contends that a complementary, yet seemingly contradictory double logic characterizes the postmodern novel’s engagement with narratives of aural influence. On the one hand, such narratives echo and amplify postwar fiction’s media anxiety; on the other hand, they allow print fiction to appropriate the techniques of aural media. This dialectical engagement with media aurality―this simultaneous impulse to repudiate and to utilize―is the central mechanism of the heterophonic novel.

Literature & Fiction

St. Clair, Justin

History & Criticism

Routledge

Soundtracked Books from the Acoustic Era to the Digital Age: A Century of "Books That Sing" (Sound in Urban and Popular Culture)

Teen & Young Adult

<p>The idea of humans taking on the persona of animals for rituals and for pleasure dates back thousands of years. There are many subcultures in the world today that have been enjoying taking on the persona of human pets for decades in this country, just behind the scenes of what society accepts. In the past 10-15 years, there has been a human-puppy revolution happening. While it was first overtly noticeable in the deeply sexual, gay leather community, people from every walk of life are deriving pleasure from letting go of the cares of this world and taking on the care-free persona of an animal. Within the past several years, the concept has even made its way into prime-time TV, although generally with a negative connotation.This book takes an in-depth look at the human puppy movement over the past decade. After a cursory look at history, the author defines the movement as it is happening today, and offers observations and advice to those who are learning what human pup play is all about. Included in the discussed topics are pup roles, mosh etiquette, leather relationships, and puppy competitions.A unique characteristic of this book is that the author also takes time to delve into the art of handling the human pet; giving advice and tips for those who are not human pets, but love them. A lengthy section is devoted to the role of the Trainer/Handler and how they relate to the puppies in social settings, group interactions, and training situations.</p>

Bark!

Nazca Plains

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Books by St. Clair, Justin