My hope is that by attending to sound I have been able to open up parts of these worlds; not to get a glimpse of them but to listen in. These were worlds much more alive with sound than our own; worlds not yet disenchanted; worlds perhaps even chanted into being.―from the IntroductionIn early America; every sound had a living; willful force at its source. Sometimes these forces were not human or even visible. In this fascinating and highly original work of cultural history; Richard Cullen Rath recreates in rich detail a world remote from our own; one in which sounds were charged with meaning and power.From thunder and roaring waterfalls to bells and drums; natural and human-made sounds other than language were central to the lives of the inhabitants of colonial America. Rath considers the multiple soundscapes shaped by European Americans; Native Americans; and African Americans from 1600 to 1770; and particularly the methods that people used to interpret and express their beliefs about sound. In the process he shows how sound shaped identities; bonded communities; and underscored―or undermined―the power of authorities.This book's stunning evidence of the importance of sound in early America―even among the highly literate New England Puritans―reminds us of a time before a world dominated by the visual; a young country where hearing was a more crucial part of living.
#3050856 in Books Cornell University Press 1990-05-08Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.21 x .69 x 6.14l; .0 #File Name: 0801424135248 pages
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