Work

The Vagaries of Sonic Neighborly Life: Privacy at Home and Sound Politics in Post-Socialist Mass Housing

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: The article contributes to understanding of how collective life in post-socialist mass housing is ordered by discussing the ambiguous relations that exist between sound, privacy, and home. It demonstrates how residents of Severnaya Dolina, a large housing estate in St. Petersburg, Russia, experience certain neighborly sounds as nuisances and calls to action to react to and prevent sonic intrusions. Privacy at home is a collective achievement: Residents assemble complex combinations of materials, regulations, relationships, and practices to achieve privacy in their apartments. Analyses of sources, circulation, articulations, evaluations, and contestations of sound in Severnaya Dolina demonstrate how residents, who can hardly rely on the local authorities to create and regulate privacy, employ various sound politics. They define who and what is accountable for sound circulations and evoke various means to create privacy.

Source: Space and Culture

DOI: 10.1177/12063312231210103

Author: Liubov Chernysheva

Institutions: Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Sociology, University of Amsterdam

Language: English

Topic: Sound Studies and Aurality

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,250