Anthropocene Soundscapes

El presente podcast nace a raíz de la invitación del seminario Paisajes del Antropoceno, organizado por el IVAC 2022, el cual a nuestro entender nos posibilita pensar en la relación entre los conceptos del Antropoceno y el arte.

Los planteamientos que hemos elaborado en este trabajo orbitan en torno a las sonoridades y los versos, convergiendo poetas de distintas épocas y lugares. De esta manera, es posible encontrar diversas biografías, conflictividades, anhelos e intencionalidades.

“Sampleamos” creativamente.

La imagen de los cables submarinos, auténticas autopistas que nos permiten cursar comunicaciones internacionales e intercambiar grandes volúmenes de información a gran velocidad, han permitido superar las distancias físicas que nos separan como grupo y nos condujo a pensar en los procesos evocativos del mar, de los caminos, de los viajes.

El grupo está constituido por Lina Gabriela Cortés, Juan Ignacio Chávez, Patricio Urbano y Cristina Zilio.

Episodio 1: 

En este primer episodio pensamos en la conquista del espacio submarino, en las velocidades sobrehumanas, en esa hada que llamamos electricidad, en la comunicación, en la soledad.  Escuchamos textos de Emily Dickinson que exploran los imaginarios que trajo el telégrafo, a mediados del siglo XIX, cuando, a decir de Stefan Zweig, “la chispa eléctrica, que [otrora] todavía apenas si cubría la distancia de una pulgada entre la botella de Leiden y el nudillo, adqui[ría] de pronto una fuerza demoníaca que le permitía saltar sobre países, montañas y continentes enteros”.

The Teutoburg Forest is a low mountain range in North Rhine-Westphalia, more precisely in East Westphalia-Lippe, and stretches from Detmold via Bielefeld to Osnabrück. It is the green lung of the region and offers people a balance to life in the city.

For some time now, however, the Teuto has been threatened by climate change, persistent drought, and dryness. These changing conditions are the ideal breeding ground for the bark beetle, which means that the trees can no longer produce resin and thus become rotten and porous. For this reason, many trees – especially spruces – must be cut down. The result is bare sections that change the landscape and the habitat.

This episode of the podcast series “Anthropocene Soundscapes” deals with this problem and provides insights into an endangered region. By Joel Busch

For pictures, please see our instagram account (@ivac_anthropocene).

Additional Ressources

Vom Wert der Bäume, ZEIT Online 

Dramatische Situation im Bielefelder Stadtwald (Spendenaktion)

Neuronales Netzwerk kann Baumhöhen von Satellitenbildern ablesen, ETH Zürich

Global Canopy Height 2020

Credits

Text & editing: Joel Busch

Sounds: BBC Sound Effects

Own recordings

Our relation to nature has changed over time. Sometimes nature poses a threat. Sometimes people see nature as something to preserve. And sometimes nature is both: threat and treasure. 

This interview with university professor Eva Horn traces the routs of our contemporary understanding of nature and the specific problems that climate change and other effects of the Anthropocene are causing for our senses: too big or too small to hear, see, feel. With the help of digital tools, we might be able to leave behind this “clash of scales” and find a way to get in touch again with our surroundings. 

Eva Horn is professor of German Studies at the University of Vienna. She is also the founder of the Vienna Anthropocene Network. Her Routledge introduction to the Anthropocene served as basis of discussion in the IVAC seminar.

Credits

Music by Sol Rezza.

Tracks: Rooms in your mind, Schnee in Halle (from the EP, “Halle Klang Karte”)

Learn more at solrezza.net.

Theme music: Nadsat Banda

Please see their Spotify page. 

Welcome to our new podcast Anthropocene Soundscapes! The only podcast about climate change and ecocriticism that really listens to the world’s bumping heartbeat.

In this episode, project coordinator, Monika Raič, tells us about the trajectory of the IVAC network, the scope of the project’s research, and about the new geological epoch we live in: the Anthropocene.

Anthropocene Soundscapes is a collaborative, bilingual podcast series by university students, broadcasting from four different cities on two different continents. As part of an international seminar in Romance Studies, the students explore the many ways in which humans have altered planet Earth. 

Monika Raič is a postdoctoral researcher at Berlin’s Humboldt University and the coordinator of the IVAC project “Anthropocene Landscapes” funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Check out our Instagram @ivac_anthropocene.

Credits

Music by Sol Rezza.

Individual tracks: Rooms in your mind, Infinite Train, Between Spaces (Halle Klang Karte, 13)

Sol Rezza kindly granted us permission to use her amazing sound art for free. To hear more, please visit her Bandcamp page.

Our theme music is by Miguel Angel Navarette and his band, Nadsat Banda.

Ambient sounds: BBC Sound Effects

Editing: Florenz Gilly