BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//jEvents 2.0 for Joomla//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/Paris BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20251026T020000 RDATE:20260329T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:Europe/Paris CET END:STANDARD BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20261025T020000 RDATE:20270328T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:Europe/Paris CET END:STANDARD BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20271031T020000 RDATE:20280326T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:Europe/Paris CET END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250423T090000 RDATE:20251026T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 TZNAME:Europe/Paris CEST END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260329T030000 RDATE:20261025T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 TZNAME:Europe/Paris CEST END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20270328T030000 RDATE:20271031T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 TZNAME:Europe/Paris CEST END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:d497119f72c84478f370179e9f2314e7 CATEGORIES:Journées d’étude, Séminaire du CREM CREATED:20260118T143744 SUMMARY:World Amplification International Study Day LOCATION:MSH Mondes (bât. Weber)\, salle 2 (RDC) - 200 avenue de la République\, Nan terre\, \, 92000\, DESCRIPTION:\n \nOrganized by Pierre Prouteau (LAMC & EASt/ULB, CREM, CASE)\nDoes t he sound of the world tend to become always more amplified? Why does this f eeling stays on the mind like an earworm, sometimes with delight, often wit h a negative value attached to it – the nuisance of noise. How has this pot entially universal tendency to enhance amplification been reinvigorated by electroacoustic? The objective of this study day is to address electroacous tic amplification in its physiological, acoustic, aesthetic, philosophical, technical, moral dimensions—is the pleasure of some, the noise of others, and how is the occupied “volume” negotiated? And its afferent political dim ension. The idea is to examine the definitions of sound intensity, its effe cts on audience perception, and how electroacoustic amplification has impac ted already-existing repertoires, and contributed to create new ones. Can s ound systems be a weapon in the media arena? As a weapon of the weak or an instrument of domination?\nProgram9h30-10h Coffee\nI. Musicians and amplifi cation10h-10h30 Abderraouf Ouertani (member CUNTIC, Univ. of Tunis) What am plification requires: The Impact of Amplification on Oud Practices (and its study)\n10h30-11h Sarah Benhaim (Lecturer Univ. of Lorraine) Extreme liste ning: sounds and amplification in noise music\n11h-11h30 Coffee\nII. Theori es and measures of amplification (1)11h30-12h Mukul Menon (predoc, Univ. Tü bingen) Modulating Religiosity: Qualified Amplification of Sounds, Ideas, a nd Practices \n12h-12h30 Helma Korzybska (S2HEP, Univ. Lyon 1, member LESC/ CNRS, Univ. Paris Nanterre) Redefining “noise”. Amplifications, modulations and redefinitions of auditory perception through cochlear implants\n12h30- 14h Lunch Break\nII. Theories and measures of amplification (2)14h-14h30 Ca rola Lorea (Professor Univ. of Tübingen) On mantras, picnic parties and car horns: towards a South Asian sonic theory of amplification as auspiciousne ss\n \nConclusive remarks\n14h30-15h Pierre Prouteau (LAMC, EASt/ULB, CREM, CASE) What is an "amplified society" ?\n15h-16h Collective discussion and end of study day\n \nAbstractsAbderraouf Ouertani (member CUNTIC, Univ. of Tunis) What amplification requires: The impact of amplification on oud prac tices (and its study)\nThis presentation will describe the impact of the wi despread use of electric amplification in the case of the oud, between cons traints (sound degradation, feedback) and advantages (new sounds, going bey ond the strict framework of chamber music). It will also be an opportunity to discuss the place of socio-technical phenomena related to electric ampli fication in music studies and to problematise some key concepts in ethnomus icology such as ‘instrument’, “music” and ‘musician’.\nSarah Benhaim (Lectu rer Univ. of Lorraine) Extreme listening: sounds and amplification in noise music\nConsidering loud sound objects in the field of music invites us to take an interest in the technical means and technologies used to amplify mu sical productions, but also in musical genres that place particular importa nce on sound volume in their creative process and listening modalities. Thi s is the case with noise music, an experimental music that emerged in the e arly 1980s, which is unique in that it is characterised by noise-based mate rial and sound diffusion conditions that are often considered extreme. I wi ll examine how noise artists and listeners perceive noise and high-volume a mplification aesthetically and sensorially, based on interviews and recordi ngs from a field study conducted in Paris. After a brief review of the cent rality of noise in noise music, I will explain how amplification constitute s a noisy mediation from the point of view of instrumental performance, bef ore showing how it plays a major role in live listening by promoting an imm ersive and ecstatic listening experience.\nMukul Menon (predoc, Univ. Tübin gen) Modulating Religiosity: Qualified Amplification of Sounds, Ideas, and Practices\nSound in the context of public, communal, and private piety is l inked to mediation with the more-than-human and the inscription of identity , social relations, and associations with the past. Amplification as a tool and a method of augmenting such processes is especially evident in religio us cultures that are based on what has been termed ‘acoustic piety’, that i s, religiosity significantly produced, interpreted, and perceived through s ound and in sonic terms. What do differences in sonic and cultural amplific ation of religious practices in a hierarchical and stratified social enviro nment indicate about underlying social phenomena? To explore this idea, thi s paper takes as a case study the popular practice of recitations of the 16 th-century text, Addhyātma Rāmāyaṇam Kiḷippāṭṭ, a regional vernacular retel ling of the religious epic Rāmāyaṇa in Kerala, South India. Using ethnograp hic and archival data, it looks at how, through the amplification of recita tional practices and ancillary activities- including onsite live and playba ck performances, congregational sonic acts, public sermons, and political s peeches in urban and rural contexts- particular communities, socialities, a nd spaces are delineated. Modulations in how ideas and sounds are expanded indicate particularities of cultural transformations and continuities. whic h are expressed, shared, and felt, but also creatively deployed by social a gents.\nHelma Korzybska (S2HEP, Univ. Lyon 1, member LESC/CNRS, Univ. Paris Nanterre) Redefining “noise”. Amplifications, modulations and redefinition s of auditory perception through cochlear implants\nIntroducing neurotechno logies into the bodies and perception of people who have lost the ability t o hear raises numerous technical, cultural and ethical questions (Mills 201 2, Friedner and Helmreich 2012, Lloyd & Bonventre 2020, Bonventre et al . 2023, Kecman et al. 2026), nuancing widespread notions of human augmentat ion. The learning and rehabilitation process following the surgical implant ation is long and strenuous, leaving people with sounding worlds they often find difficult to interpret and to incorporate. Not only do individuals ha ve to deal with day-to-day technical issues and sensory fluctuations, but t hey also must learn to manage the cultural gap with the newfound perception .\nUsing cochlear implants requires different types of adjustments and nego tiations, of sensory thresholds, somatic modes of attention, as well as exp ectations… If “augmenting” perception doesn’t usually translate in a melior ative sense, some kind of enhancement does operate here. What kinds of ampl ifications or intensifications are produced or enabled through these stimul ation devices? How are perception and experience amplified in this context? \nThe technological design and implantation and rehabilitation protocols le ad to very specific ways of heightening sensations and modes of attention. This communication proposes to offer insights into the complexity of equipp ing perception with technological devices, by focusing on the semantic, sen sory, and affective redefinitions of “noise”, as revealed through the elect rode calibration process and negotiations between patients and speech thera pists/audiologists observed in a cochlear implantation service in France.\n Dr. Carola Lorea (Professor Univ. of Tübingen) On mantras, picnic parties a nd car horns: towards a South Asian sonic theory of amplification as auspic iousness\nBased on extensive ethnographic research on mantras and sacred so und practices in India, this paper develops a preliminary theory of amplifi cation as auspiciousness. Drawing on sonic ethnography, I approach amplific ation not primarily as a technical operation, but as a culturally and ritua lly charged modality of sharing auspiciousness in space. I first demonstrat e how amplified sound is widely associated with safety, joy, the assertion of presence, life energy, and positive force. Through everyday and festive soundscapes—such as picnic-season loudspeaker cultures and the affective se nsorium of vehicular honking—I show how loudness and sonic expansion are so cially experienced as protective, enlivening, and affirming.\nThe paper the n moves beyond strictly audible sound to explore forms of non-electroacoust ic amplification of unheard auspicious sounds. Focusing in particular on sp inning and other kinetic practices, I examine how motion itself amplifies m antras—understood as sacred, efficacious formulas—by engaging agentive elem ents such as wind, fire, electricity, and the human voice. Here, amplificat ion is not only a matter of volume, but of circulation, repetition, and sca ttering into space, underscoring the inseparability of sound, movement, spa ce, and felt vibration. By bringing together loudness, motion, and mantra p ractice, this paper traces the contours of a broader South Asian sonic ideo logy in which amplification emerges as a central mode of producing auspicio usness and of making place.\n X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

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Organized by Pierre Prouteau (LAMC & EASt/ULB, CREM, CASE)

Does the sound of the world tend to become always more amplifie d? Why does this feeling stays on the mind like an earworm, sometimes with delight, often with a negative value attached to it – the nuisance of noise . How has this potentially universal tendency to enhance amplification been reinvigorated by electroacoustic? The objective of this study day is to ad dress electroacoustic amplification in its physiological, acoustic, aesthet ic, philosophical, technical, moral dimensions—is the pleasure of some, the noise of others, and how is the occupied “volume” negotiated? And its affe rent political dimension. The idea is to examine the definitions of sound i ntensity, its effects on audience perception, and how electroacoustic ampli fication has impacted already-existing repertoires, and contributed to crea te new ones. Can sound systems be a weapon in the media arena? As a weapon of the weak or an instrument of domination?

Program

9h 30-10h Coffee

I. Musicians and amplification

10h-10h30 Abderr aouf Ouertani (member CUNTIC, Univ. of Tunis) What amplification requires: The Impact of Amplification on Oud P ractices (and its study)

10h30-11h Sarah Benhaim (Lecturer Univ. of L orraine) Extreme listening: sounds and amplification in noise music

1 1h-11h30 Coffee

II. Theories and measures of amplification (1)< /h3>

11h30-12h Mukul Menon (predoc, Univ. Tübingen) Modulating Relig iosity: Qualified Amplification of Sounds, Ideas, and Practices 

12h-12h30 Helma Korzybska (S2 HEP, Univ. Lyon 1, member LESC/CNRS, Univ. Paris Nanterre) Redefining “nois e”. Amplifications, modulations and redefinitions of auditory perception th rough cochlear implants

12h30-14h Lunch Break

II. Theor ies and measures of amplification (2)

14h-14h30 Carola Lorea (P rofessor Univ. of Tübingen) On mantras, picnic parties and car horns: towar ds a South Asian sonic theory of amplification as auspiciousness

&nbs p;

Conclusive remarks

14h30 -15h Pierre Prouteau (LAMC, EASt/ULB, CREM, CASE) What is an "amplified soc iety" ?

15h-16h Collective discussion and end of study day

 

Abstracts

Abderraouf Ouertani (member CUNTIC, Univ. of Tunis) What amplification requires: T he impact of amplification on oud practices (and its study)

This presentation will describe the impact of the widespread use of electri c amplification in the case of the oud, between constraints (sound degradat ion, feedback) and advantages (new sounds, going beyond the strict framewor k of chamber music). It will also be an opportunity to discuss the place of socio-technical phenomena related to electric amplification in music studi es and to problematise some key concepts in ethnomusicology such as ‘instru ment’, “music” and ‘musician’.

Sarah Benhaim (Lecturer Univ. of Lorraine) Extreme listening: sounds and amplification in noise music

Considering loud sound objects in the field of music invites us to take an interest in the technical means and technologies used to amplif y musical productions, but also in musical genres that place particular imp ortance on sound volume in their creative process and listening modalities. This is the case with noise music, an experimental music that emerged in t he early 1980s, which is unique in that it is characterised by noise-based material and sound diffusion conditions that are often considered extreme. I will examine how noise artists and listeners perceive noise and high-volu me amplification aesthetically and sensorially, based on interviews and rec ordings from a field study conducted in Paris. After a brief review of the centrality of noise in noise music, I will explain how amplification consti tutes a noisy mediation from the point of view of instrumental performance, before showing how it plays a major role in live listening by promoting an immersive and ecstatic listening experience.

Mukul Menon (pr edoc, Univ. Tübingen) Modulating Religiosity: Qualified Amplification of So unds, Ideas, and Practices

Sound in the context of public, c ommunal, and private piety is linked to mediation with the more-than-human and the inscription of identity, social relations, and associations with th e past. Amplification as a tool and a method of augmenting such processes i s especially evident in religious cultures that are based on what has been termed ‘acoustic piety’, that is, religiosity significantly produced, inter preted, and perceived through sound and in sonic terms. What do differences in sonic and cultural amplification of religious practices in a hierarchic al and stratified social environment indicate about underlying social pheno mena? To explore this idea, this paper takes as a case study the popular pr actice of recitations of the 16th-century text, Addhyātma Rāmā yaṇam Kiḷippāṭṭ, a regional vernacular retelling of the relig ious epic Rāmāyaṇa in Kerala, South India. Using ethnographic and archival data, it looks at how, through the amplification of recitational p ractices and ancillary activities- including onsite live and playback perfo rmances, congregational sonic acts, public sermons, and political speeches in urban and rural contexts- particular communities, socialities, and space s are delineated. Modulations in how ideas and sounds are expanded indicate particularities of cultural transformations and continuities. which are ex pressed, shared, and felt, but also creatively deployed by social agents.

Helma Korzybska (S2HEP, Univ. Lyon 1, member LESC/CNRS, Univ. Paris Nanterre) Redefining “noise”. Amplifications, modulations and redefin itions of auditory perception through cochlear implants

Intr oducing neurotechnologies into the bodies and perception of people who have lost the ability to hear raises numerous technical, cultural and ethical q uestions (Mills 2012, Friedner and Helmreich 2012, Lloyd & Bonventre 20 20, Bonventre et al. 2023, Kecman et al. 2026), nuancing widespread notions of human augmentation. The learning and rehabilitation process following t he surgical implantation is long and strenuous, leaving people with soundin g worlds they often find difficult to interpret and to incorporate. Not onl y do individuals have to deal with day-to-day technical issues and sensory fluctuations, but they also must learn to manage the cultural gap with the newfound perception.

Using cochlear implants requires different types of adjustments and negotiations, of sensory thresholds, somatic modes of a ttention, as well as expectations… If “augmenting” perception doesn’t usual ly translate in a meliorative sense, some kind of enhancement does operate here. What kinds of amplifications or intensifications are produced or enab led through these stimulation devices? How are perception and experience am plified in this context?

The technological design and implantation an d rehabilitation protocols lead to very specific ways of heightening sensat ions and modes of attention. This communication proposes to offer insights into the complexity of equipping perception with technological devices, by focusing on the semantic, sensory, and affective redefinitions of “noise”, as revealed through the electrode calibration process and negotiations betw een patients and speech therapists/audiologists observed in a cochlear impl antation service in France.

Dr. Carola Lor ea (Professor Univ. of Tübingen) On mantras, picnic parties and car horns: towards a South Asian sonic theory of amplification as auspiciousness

Based on extensive ethnographic researc h on mantras and sacred sound practices in India, this paper develops a pre liminary theory of amplification as auspiciousness. Drawing on sonic ethnog raphy, I approach amplification not primarily as a technical operation, but as a culturally and ritually charged modality of sharing auspiciousness in space. I first demonstrate how amplified sound is widely associated with s afety, joy, the assertion of presence, life energy, and positive force. Thr ough everyday and festive soundscapes—such as picnic-season loudspeaker cul tures and the affective sensorium of vehicular honking—I show how loudness and sonic expansion are socially experienced as protective, enlivening, and affirming.

The paper then moves beyond str ictly audible sound to explore forms of non-electroacoustic amplification o f unheard auspicious sounds. Focusing in particular on spinning and other k inetic practices, I examine how motion itself amplifies mantras—understood as sacred, efficacious formulas—by engaging agentive elements such as wind, fire, electricity, and the human voice. Here, amplification is not only a matter of volume, but of circulation, repetition, and scattering into space , underscoring the inseparability of sound, movement, space, and felt vibra tion. By bringing together loudness, motion, and mantra practice, this pape r traces the contours of a broader South Asian sonic ideology in which ampl ification emerges as a central mode of producing auspiciousness and of maki ng place.

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