Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale

Rivista | Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale
Fascicolo monografico | Supplemento 59 | 2023
Articolo | The Panaural People’s Republic: Loudness, Loss of Self, and Sonic Social Control in Mao’s China

The Panaural People’s Republic: Loudness, Loss of Self, and Sonic Social Control in Mao’s China

Abstract

Perspectives on the establishment of social control have long been shaped by theories concerning visibility and observation, such as Foucault’s concept of the Panopticon. In Mao era China, however, sound and hearing had a greater impact on citizens becoming self-disciplined. Reflecting on a variety of sources, with a particular focus on memoirs, this article details how the Mao era soundscape helped to fashion a new form of disciplinary society. This disciplinary society was chaotic, however, and sites of resistance remained, in which some individuals fought to retain their sense of self, even amid all the tumult and violence.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Presentato: 24 Novembre 2022 | Accettato: 28 Gennaio 2023 | Pubblicato 01 Dicembre 2023 | Lingua: en

Keywords LoudspeakerSoundSoundscapeNoiseChinaRadio


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