Saúl Martínez Bermejo (Madrid): Sound and Silence in Early Modern Iberian Empires 1480-1650

The Sound and Silence project aims to reconstruct the general historical sound experience of early modern Iberian colonization. My research focuses on natural soundscapes (determined by meteorological and geographical conditions, etc.), animal and artificial sounds (firearms, bells, carriages, architecture), and collective sounds of human groups (from rebellion to mourn to festivities, etc.). It also includes, but it is not limited to, music and human voice (translation, hybridization, etc.). Finally, research into the sound experience of the past investigates contemporary theories on sound and its effects upon human beings, and on the relationship between sound, sight and other senses. I aim to establish a comprehensive account on how did early modern Spaniards and Portuguese make sense of the sounds they heard during their travels outside Europe and how did they, and other Europeans, use sounds for war, commerce and contact. My objective is to show that sounds served to apprehend and categorize the world in ways that differ both from present-day conceptions of sound and from visual categories.

• Zeit: 16-18 Uhr c.t.
• Ort: Historicum, Raum K 401