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Soundwalking as a Means of Building Intergenerational Bridges and Community

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Soundwalking as a Means of Building Intergenerational Bridges and Community

Jabbour, Guillaume W. (2024) Soundwalking as a Means of Building Intergenerational Bridges and Community. Masters thesis, Concordia University.

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Abstract

What might the soundscape of a rural historic bridge tell us about ourselves? This thesis examines how soundwalking created opportunities for intergenerational connection, by inviting participants living in a common geographical area to explore a particular bridge, its soundscape and oral history. The historic Avoca Bridge, located in the rural community of Avoca in Quebec’s Lower Laurentians, is the materialization of commonality between members of different generations as they cross over the Rouge River. During the fall of 2023, I led a research-creation intervention with five older adults and one teenage participant, during which they were introduced to amplified and deep listening, and learned about the oral history of the Avoca Bridge. The culminating activity was a soundwalk on the bridge, where participants used digital voice recorders and headphones to amplify the site-specific soundscape. This paper is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 explores delay as affective response, and as a sound effect. Chapter 2 examines material aspects of the bridge and how these are parallel to participants’ responses. Chapter 3 offers a brief history of soundwalking, with particular attention to Andra McCartney’s seminal work on the practice, followed by a discussion of theoretical and methodological considerations relating to the use of amplification. The overall experience is described and examined through excerpts from participant-created audio recordings, recorded group conversations, and my own notes. The notion of a society where beneficial intergenerational connections are made possible thanks to an interruption to age-segregated practices is explored.

Divisions:Concordia University > Faculty of Arts and Science > Communication Studies
Item Type:Thesis (Masters)
Authors:Jabbour, Guillaume W.
Institution:Concordia University
Degree Name:M.A.
Program:Media Studies
Date:May 2024
Thesis Supervisor(s):Chapman, Owen
Keywords:soundwalking soundscape intergenerationality aging teenagers amplification
ID Code:994060
Deposited By: GUILLAUME W. JABBOUR
Deposited On:24 Oct 2024 16:30
Last Modified:24 Oct 2024 16:30

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