CFP: Sound and Sports, 4/15/13

Image courtesy of the Bay Area Bias

Call For Posts: Summer Series on Sound and Sports
Due April 15th, 2013

In the past few years, sound has emerged as a domain of controversy in contemporary sports for spectators and participants alike, particularly in global events such as the World Cup and the Olympics, where differently shaped national and cultural sensibilities come into close contact with one another.  The international argument over the sound of the vuvuzuela in the 2010 World Cup and the debate over whether or not female tennis players should be allowed to “grunt” in the 2012 Olympics are examples of contention over sound and the role it plays in sporting events. Sounding Out! has also considered sound and baseball through several different filters: the vexed question of “what it takes” to sing the national anthem at a sporting event, the symbolism of baseball players’ “walk up” music, how fans listen to televised games, and why there are so few female sports commentators on the radio.

This summer, Sounding Out! will deepen our exploration of the broad question–what roles do sound and/or listening play in sports and sporting events?–through specific case studies.  Some questions to consider include: How might sound be a “game-changer” in sports, for both audiences and players?  What happens when we conceive of the playing field as aural?  How might sports help us reconceive the act of listening in the everyday moment?  We particularly welcome work that is global and/or comparative in scope as well as posts that considers sound’s role in understandings of sports (and the body) as raced, gendered, classed, eroticized, and/or nationalized.

Keep in mind that many of our best posts mix both a research-based perspective while examining an aural experience through a first-person narrative style. We also encourage pitches for podcasts on this issue as well as ideas for artistic posts that use the blog format to create an original audio-visual experience.

Please pitch your idea in 250 (or less) of your best words by April 15th.  Send inquiries and submissions to Jennifer Stoever-Ackerman, SO!’s Editor in Chief and Guest Posts Editor, at (jsa@soundingoutblog.com).  Don’t forget to read our submission guidelines before sending us your stuff.   Good luck!