Prerequisits:

There are no specific prerequisites. However, prior knowledge of basic theories and research methods in ethnology, anthropology, folklore studies, cultural heritage studies, or related fields—is recommended.

Content (Syllabus outline):

The course examines sound heritage as the outcome of dynamic and multilayered social processes, intertwined with historical, cultural, technological, and political dimensions. With its interdisciplinary design, it integrates theoretical, methodological, and practical approaches and draws on insights from the humanities, social sciences, ethnomusicology, acoustics, engineering, media studies, and heritage studies. Special emphasis is placed on understanding sound as a medium for shaping collective memory, cultural diversity, and identities, as well as on developing the ability for critical analysis of its role in society.

Addressed topics:

• theoretical approaches to sound and its treatment as a cultural, aesthetic, and social phenomenon,
• acoustic properties of sound and the processes of its perception,
• the development of recording technologies, sound carriers, and practices of reproduction,
• methodologies and practices of collecting, processing, interpreting, and archiving recordings of oral traditions, music, speech practices, and soundscapes,
• the positioning of sound heritage within different historical, technological, and social contexts,
• critical evaluation of media representations, institutional policies, and identity practices in the processes of sound heritagisation,
• issues of preservation, long-term storage, digitisation, and accessibility of sound heritage, as well as the ethical dilemmas related to its use, dissemination, public availability, and commercialisation.

Readings:

• Adlešič, Miroslav. Svet zvoka in glasbe. Ljubljana, 1964.
• Barz, Gregory F., and Timothy J. Cooley, eds. Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
• Berlin, Gabriele, and Artur Simon, eds. Music Archiving in the World. Paper presented at the Conference on the Occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the Berlin Phonogramm-Archiv. Berlin: VWB – Verlag für Wiessenschaft und Bildung.
• Bijsterveld, Karin. Soundscapes of the Urban Past: Staged Sound as Mediated Cultural Heritage. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, 2013.
• Blaukopf, Kurt. Glasba v družbenih spremembah. Ljubljana: ŠKUC Filozofska fakulteta, 1993.
• Brady, Erika. A Spiral Way: How the Phonograph Changed Ethnography. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1999.
• Brooks, Jeanice, Matthew Stephens, and Wiebke Thormählen, eds. Sound Heritage: Making Music Matter in Historic Houses. New York: Routledge, 2022.
• Ceribašić, Naila, Dora Dunatov, and Jelka Vukobratić, eds. Rana domaća diskografska industrija: Edison Bell Penkala, Elektroton i Jugoton. Zagreb: Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku; Ljubljana: Univerza v Ljubljani, Filozofska fakulteta, 2025.
• Feld, Steven. Sound and Sentiment: Birds, Weeping, Poetics, and Song in Kaluli Expression. 3rd ed. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2012.
• Gronow, Pekka, and Ilpo Saunio. An International History of the Recording Industry. London: Wellington House, 1998.
• IASA Technical Committee. Guidelines on the Production and Preservation of Digital Audio Objects, ed. by Kevin Bradley. 2nd ed. 2009. (= Standards, Recommended Practices and Strategies, IASA-TC 04). www.iasa-web.org/tc04/audio-preservation
• IASA Technical Committee. The Safeguarding of the Audiovisual Heritage: Ethics, Principles and Preservation Strategy, co-edited by Will Prentice and Lars Gaustad. Version 4, 2017. (= Standards, Recommended Practices and Strategies, IASA-TC 03). International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives. www.iasa-web.org/tc03/ethics-principles-preservation-strategy
• Katz, Mark. Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music. Rev. ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010.
• Kozorog, Miha, and Rajko Muršič, eds. Sounds of Attraction: Yugoslav and Post-Yugoslav Popular Music. Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, 2017.
• Kunej, Drago. Fonograf je dospel! Prvi zvočni zapisi slovenske ljudske glasbe. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU, 2008.
• Kunej, Drago. Med kodami skrita zvočna dediščina Slovencev. Glasnik Slovenskega etnološkega društva 54 (1,2): 22–28, 2014.
• Kunej, Drago, ed. Zvočno gradivo gramofonskih plošč kot vir etnomuzikoloških in folklorističnih raziskav. Traditiones 43 (2), 2014.
• Kunej, Drago, and Rebeka KUNEJ. Music from Both Sides. Gramophone Records Made by Matija Arko and the Hoyer Trio. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU, 2017.
• Ravnikar, Bruno. Osnove glasbene akustike in informatike. Ljubljana, 1999.
• Turino, Thomas. Music as Social Life: The Politics of Participation. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2008.
• Ziegler, Susanne, ed. Historical Sources of Ethnomusicology in Contemporary Debate. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017.

Objectives and competences:

The course is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of sound as one of the key elements of intangible cultural heritage and to foster a critical and reflective approach to its study and interpretation. Students will become acquainted with fundamental theoretical approaches to the study of sound and sound heritage, gain insight into technological processes and their impact on heritage practices, develop the ability to analyse and interpret sound sources in diverse cultural and historical contexts, and address the challenges and opportunities arising from media transmission, digitisation, and archiving. They will acquire the capacity for independent research and for clear, well-argued written and oral presentation of research findings.

Intended learning outcomes:

Upon successful completion of the course, students will understand the key concepts and be familiar with a range of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of sound heritage. They will be able to analyse and interpret sound sources within historical, social, and cultural contexts, appropriately situate them within heritage processes, and develop the ability to critically assess the influence of media representations and institutional practices on the shaping of sound heritage. The acquired knowledge will be demonstrated through independent research work and the synthesis of findings in the form of a scholarly paper, which may serve as a draft dissertation chapter or as an academic article.

Learning and teaching methods:

Types of learning/teaching:

• Frontal teaching
• Independent students work
• e-learning

Teaching methods:

• Explanation
• Conversation/discussion/debate
• Work with texts
• Case studies
• Field work (e.g. company visits)

Assessment:

• Long written assignments 60 %
• Presentations 20 %
• Final examination (written/oral) 20 %

Lecturer’s references:

• Kunej, Drago. France Marolt’s Research, Artistic and Educational Work as Reflected on Sound Recordings. Traditiones 54 (2), 2025, pp. 75–96. DOI: 10.3986/Traditio2025540204.
• Kunej, Drago. Sound recordings and Karel Štrekelj: the initiator of a new approach to folk song research in Slovenia. Muzikologija: časopis Muzikološkog instituta Srpske akademije nauka i umetnosti. 33, 2022, pp. 39– DOI: 10.2298/MUZ2233039K.
• Kunej, Drago. Matija Murko – pionir terenskega zvočnega dokumentiranja. In: Jesenšek, Marko (ed.), Stanonik, Marija (ed.). Matija Murko – slovanski filolog v najširšem pomenu besede, (Razprave 24). Ljubljana: Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti, 2020. pp. 236–
• Kunej, Drago. 78 rpm records as a source for ethnomusicology and folklore research: experiences from Slovenia. In: Ziegler, Susanne (ed.). Historical sources of ethnomusicology in contemporary debate. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2017, pp. 34–
• Kunej, Drago, Kunej, Rebeka. Glasba z obeh strani: gramofonske plošče Matije Arka in Hoyer tria. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU; Ribnica: Rokodelski center, 2016.
• Kunej, Drago. Digitised early sound recordings as scholarly resources. In: Trapped in folklore? Studies in music and dance tradition and their contemporary transformations, (Musikethnologie, Bd. 7, vol. 7). Zürich; Berlin: LIT. 2013, pp. 181–196