Sounding Bodies: Identity, Injustice, and the Voice

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In compelling and intricately argued ways, the authors make a resounding case for understanding how vocal sonority is intrinsic to self-identity and self-reception Required Reading. - Jane Boston, Principal Lecturer, Voice Studies, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama A new, provocative study of the ethical, political, and social meanings of the everyday voice. Utilising the framework of feminist philosophy, authors Ann J. Cahill and Christine Hamel approach the phenomenon of voice as a lived, sonorous and embodied experience marked by the social structures that surround it, including systemic forms of injustice such as ableism, sexism, racism, and classism. By developing novel theoretical constructs such as intervocality and respiratory responsibility, Cahill and Hamel cut through the static between theory and praxis and put forward exciting theories on how human vocal sound can perpetuate -- and challenge -- persistent inequalities. Sounding Bodies presents a powerful model of how the seemingly disparate disciplines of philosophy and voice/speech training can, in conversation with each other, generate illuminating insights about our vocal lives and identities.

Reviews

An engaging and timely text and an important contribution to the emergent field of voice studies. It offers an alternative way to think and talk about voice that the reader could then translate into ways of working with and training actors voices I encourage every voice trainer and coach to keep a copy on their bookshelf and refer to it often. * Voice and Speech Review *
In compelling and intricately argued ways, the authors make a resounding case for understanding how vocal sonority is intrinsic to self-identity and self-reception. Inter-vocal sonority is shown to be crucial for social and political justice and a vital element in the repair of ravaged cultural landscapes. Required reading. * Jane Boston, Principal Lecturer, Voice Studies, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, UK *
This book is the first to bring the vibrant transdisciplinarity of sound studies together with contemporary philosophy. A marvelously materialist philosophy of voice, the book lays out a philosophy of voicing, breathing, and listening; it equips the reader with timely new concepts, including intervocality, unjust soundscapes, and the sonorous sonic voice itself. * Professor Ada Jaarsma, Mount Royal University, Canada *

Author Bio

Ann J. Cahill is a Professor of Philosophy at Elon University, US, and is the author of Overcoming Objectification: A Carnal Ethics (2010) and Rethinking Rape (2001). Her research interests lie in the intersection between feminist theory and philosophy of the body, and she has published on topics such as miscarriage, beautification and sexual assault. Christine Hamel is an Assistant Professor of Voice and Speech and Acting at Boston Universitys School of Theatre, US, where she teaches speech and dialects, voice, music theatre and a psycho-physical approach to acting. She is a professional actor, voice/dialect coach and director whose credits include work on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in regional theatre. At Boston University, Christine is the director of Femina Shakes, a laboratory of intentional experimentation with sex and gender and their impact on interpretations of Shakespeares plays. She is a Designated Linklater Voice Teacher, a Michael Chekhov Technique Certified Instructor and a member of Actors Equity.