Sound Studies Classes

Our Classes

Discover some of the sound studies classes we offer in the English department below.

ENGL 3380 Rhetoric and Writing with Sound

This class introduces the art of writing with and about recorded sound. Students get hands-on experience with digital audio tools to craft their own sound-based projects, while also developing their critical voices through writing and discussion. Together, we explore how sound recordings shape meaning, memory, and identity. Along the way, we dive into the interdisciplinary field of sound studies—touching on topics like the history and culture of listening, soundscapes in built and natural environments, sound media and art, and the very nature of how we hear and interpret the world around us.

ENGL 3382 Listening to Literature

This class focuses on literary works in the form of audiobooks and podcasts. These increasingly popular and influential forms invite us to consider how the longstanding traditions of oral storytelling and performance are sustained and reimagined through new media. Whether written works of literature that are adapted to audio formats, in the case of audiobooks, or original audio productions, in the case of short- and longform fiction podcasts, this body of literature demands new interpretive strategies. In this course, we explore how listening to literature compares to reading literature, including learning and applying the analytical method of critical listening or close listening. Moreover, students will learn the skills of making audiobooks or podcasts, in order to produce their own audio interpretations or performances of literary texts

ENGL 3386 Writing about Music

This class invites students to explore the art of writing about music—from sharp, insightful criticism to poetic liner notes and literary reflections on sound. While building a foundation in sound studies, lyric theory, and close listening, we learn how to analyze music not just as sound, but as culture, emotion, and meaning. Along the way, we experiment with different forms of writing, including music reviews, album notes, and creative responses to music in literature.