The 1st International Conference on Sonorities Research - Powers of Sound is an initiative of the Image, Sonorities and Technology Studies Group (GEIST), formed by researchers from six Brazilian institutions: UFSC, UFES, IFRS, UFRGS and UFF. The initiative seeks to promote and update sound related discussion in different countries and their relations with several knowledge fields, expanding the reach of Sound Studies field of reasearch in Brazil and in dialogue with institutions and foreign researchers.

The possibility of sounds that never stop sounding or sounds that are heard without our being able (or in need) to identify their origins transforms the act of listening in a relation of power. Contemporary society not only fulfills the environment with an incalculable number of new and powerful sounds, but, at the same time, inserts these sounds into chains of production of sense. Sounds work with identities: wether in groups or individually; sounds configure relations of power: among individuals or institutions; sounds unveil historical structures of production; sounds are essential components of the entertainment industry; sounds cause pain and death and pleasure.
The relations between sounds and power is not new, but it acquires both unprecedented and important contours in the current world politics conjuncture. In a moment of ideological fiecing where State and society have been starring violent disputes, sound is an efficient instrument of control and to inflect damage towards people or objects.

Sound Studies have been developing its field through a multidisciplinary perspective, involving areas as diverse as Technology, Audiovisual, Music, Anthropology, History, Philosophy, Communication, Economy, etc. More than a research object, the aforementioned areas show that sound ought to be thought of as an instrument of research: as a method of investigation. To understand the contemporary phenomena through different listening models and the relations of power, economy, culture, aesthetics etc. that result in these phenomena is to rethink our own conception of the world. To escape the standard visual perspective through which several fields of knowledge formulate its hypothesis is to allow, at the same time, that different aspects of the object come forth, is to question daily experience in search of new ways to position the investigation.

Having such broadening at sight, the Powers of Sound conference emphasizes the materialities of sound, either the ones that mobilize hearing and soaring practices or of the artifacts and devices that modulate and potentialize what can be accomplished with sounds. For the first edition of the conference – to be held at UFSC, Brazil, from June 5th to 7h, 2019 – we invite researchers from across the globe for a three day discussion, arranged in work groups with specific thematic axis, panels with invited experts and international keynote speakers, and the exhibition of sound performances of relevance to the main theme of the conference.

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Scientific Committee

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Prof. Dr. José Cláudio S. Castanheira (UFSC)

Prof. Dr. Pedro Silva Marra (UFES)

Prof. Dr. Marcelo Bergamin Conter (IFRS)

Prof. Dr. Dulce Mazer (UFRGS)

Prof. Dr. Ariane Holzbach (UFF)

Prof Dr. Melina A. dos Santos (PUC-RS)

Prof. Dr. Fabrício Silveira (Unisinos)

Prof. Dr. Patrícia de Oliveira Iuva (UFSC)

Prof. Dr. Andrea Carla Scansani (UFSC)

Prof. Dr. Alessandra Brandão (UFSC)

Prof. Dr. Shannon Garland (UCLA)

Prof. Dr. William Sauerbronn (Udesc)
Dr. Thaís Amorim Aragão (UFC)

Dr. Tatyana Jacques
Dr. Acácio Piedade (Udesc)

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Organizing Committee

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Prof. Dr. José Cláudio S. Castanheira (UFSC) – coordinator

Prof. Dr. Pedro Silva Marra (UFES)

Prof. Dr. Marcelo Bergamin Conter (IFRS)

Prof. Dr. Dulce Mazer (UFRGS)

Prof. Dr. Patrícia de Oliveira Iuva (UFSC)

Prof. Dr. Andrea Carla Scansani (UFSC)

Prof. Dr. Alessandra Brandão (UFSC)

Me. Cassio de Borba Lucas (UFRGS)

Me. Mario Alberto Pires Arruda (UFRGS)