The sounds of who we are: rethinking divided cities through sound

Ana Aceska*, Karolina Doughty

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

In scholarly analyses, popular representations, and professional responses, the image of the city, divided along ethnic and religious lines, is encoded in dualistic metaphors of “us and them” and “our side and their side of the city”. Those imaginations of divided cities are based on the assumption that the city dwellers of different ethno-religious groups do not share a sense of togetherness and community. In this paper, we cross-fertilize literature on divided cities and sound studies to demonstrate how sound functions as a lens to explore senses of separation and togetherness among city dwellers in a divided city. By using examples of calls to prayer, church bells, and ways in which music is performed and consumed, we argue that developing an attentiveness to soundscapes in contexts of ethnic conflicts helps not only to rethink binary definitions of divided cities but also to challenge taken-for-granted urban planning strategies in ethnically divided cities.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1371-1384
JournalUrban Geography
Volume45
Issue number8
Early online date15 Apr 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Keywords

  • Bosnia–Herzegovina
  • call to prayer
  • divided cities
  • ethno-religious relations
  • Geographies of music and sound

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