Course Description

This course explores Rome through the lens of sound. While cities are usually studied through what we see — monuments, maps, and visual representations — this course introduces listening as a sociological method. Sound is not just background noise: it produces social order, reveals inequalities, and marks who belongs and who does not. By listening critically, we can uncover the hidden rhythms of power, identity, and memory that shape urban life.

Rome provides a rich case study: from the gentrified alleys of Trastevere to the monumental silence of the aqueducts, from Fascist echoes at EUR to the adaptive reuse of the Testaccio slaughterhouse, soundscapes offer a unique entry into the city’s social and historical layers. Through field-based exercises, curated playlists, and a final sound project, students will learn to analyze urban soundscapes and to apply this framework to their own environments. The course emphasizes critical listening not as a metaphor but as a method of research.

Course Objectives

This course aims to:

  1. Introduce students to sound as a critical lens for studying cities, culture, and social life.
  2. Explore Rome as a case study for understanding how sound shapes urban space, memory, and identity.
  3. Cultivate awareness of how listening practices are socially constructed and tied to power, privilege, and belonging.
  4. Encourage students to connect theoretical frameworks with field-based inquiry and personal reflection.

Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Develop critical listening as a research method.
  2. Analyze urban soundscapes in relation to social, political, and historical processes.
  3. Engage with Rome’s neighborhoods and monuments through field-based inquiry.
  4. Produce original sound-based projects that integrate course concepts and curated playlists.

Assessment & Grading

  • Sound Exercises (3 × 10% = 30%)
    Each exercise includes a track list (minimum 3 songs/sounds) with rationale and a 300-word reflection. These scaffold the skills needed for the final project by training students to connect sound, space, and social life.
    • Outcomes addressed: 1, 2, 3
  • Rubric:
    • Engagement with prompt (30%) – Addresses all parts of the exercise; connects to site/theme.
    • Depth & critical thinking (25%) – Goes beyond description; shows awareness of sound as social order.
    • Track list & rationale (20%) – At least 3 tracks; clear explanation of choices.
    • Clarity & organization (15%) – Well-structured, 300 words, easy to follow.
    • Mechanics (10%) – Grammar, style, tone.
  • Midterm Quiz (25%)
    Covers core theories and readings from the first half of the course. Emphasis on foundational concepts (acoustemology, soundscapes, social order, ideology of listening).
    • Outcomes addressed: 1, 2
  • Final Sonic Project (30%)
    A capstone project consisting of a curated playlist (6–8 tracks) with annotations and a 1,300–1,500 word critical essay. Students must synthesize course theorists and Roman site visits, while also applying their listening framework to a space in their own context.
    • Outcomes addressed: 1, 2, 3, 4