Sounds for the End of the World
Cold War Epistemologies and the Sonic Imaginary
Sounds for the End of the World: Cold War Epistemologies and the Sonic Imaginary builds on my work as a research lead in the Music Studies in/and the Anthropocene Research Network. Sounds for the End of the World explores the relationship between technology, environments, and knowledge production in both the United States and USSR during the Cold War. My case studies include underwater acoustics and submarine technologies in the wake of WWII, seismology and missile launch monitoring, and nuclear power and the Chernobyl catastrophe to uncover the ways state power turned to sound as a means of global surveillance—often with lasting, deep historical consequences for the environment and those inhabiting it. I’ve begun work on an article from this project, “On Posthuman Soundscapes and Nuclear Futures,” which positions the Geiger Counter as a “truthful” sound medium amidst the conflicting narratives around the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. This article also explores Anthropocene theory and concepts of “deep history” and “hyperobjects” with the goal of intervening in disciplinary approaches to climate change.