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Sonic Socialism
Crisis and Care in Pandemic Hanoi
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2025
About this book
A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press's Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more.
In an era dominated by visual information, what can the sounds of a pandemic reveal about crisis and care? How might attuning to sonic atmospheres uncover new dimensions to states of emergency and their implications for collective life? In Sonic Socialism, Christina Schwenkel examines the use of sound in COVID-19 response efforts in urban Vietnam. Based on "soundwork" conducted in Hanoi in 2020 during the pandemic's first year, she shows how acoustic technologies played a pivotal yet overlooked role in state efforts to achieve record-low infection rates worldwide. Across lived experiences of quarantine, lockdown, and spatial distancing, Schwenkel explores sound-based interventions to curb virus transmission, and the public's response to these auditory measures. From instant messaging alerts to public health videos and neighborhood loudspeakers, sonic governance sought to transform urban sounds and listening practices to mobilize action, drawing people into networks of care and control. As anthropology stands at a crossroads, Sonic Socialism makes the compelling case for the value of sensory autoethnography in reimagining a more careful and caring ethnographic practice in a post-pandemic world.
In an era dominated by visual information, what can the sounds of a pandemic reveal about crisis and care? How might attuning to sonic atmospheres uncover new dimensions to states of emergency and their implications for collective life? In Sonic Socialism, Christina Schwenkel examines the use of sound in COVID-19 response efforts in urban Vietnam. Based on "soundwork" conducted in Hanoi in 2020 during the pandemic's first year, she shows how acoustic technologies played a pivotal yet overlooked role in state efforts to achieve record-low infection rates worldwide. Across lived experiences of quarantine, lockdown, and spatial distancing, Schwenkel explores sound-based interventions to curb virus transmission, and the public's response to these auditory measures. From instant messaging alerts to public health videos and neighborhood loudspeakers, sonic governance sought to transform urban sounds and listening practices to mobilize action, drawing people into networks of care and control. As anthropology stands at a crossroads, Sonic Socialism makes the compelling case for the value of sensory autoethnography in reimagining a more careful and caring ethnographic practice in a post-pandemic world.
Author / Editor information
Contributor: Christina Schwenkel
Christina Schwenkel is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside, and author of Building Socialism: The Afterlife of East German Architecture in Urban Vietnam.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
vii -
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List of Figures and Media Files
viii -
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Acknowledgments
xi -
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Preface
xv -
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Pandemic Figure 1 Superspreaders
1 -
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Introduction
7 -
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Pandemic Figure 2 Essential Workers
24 -
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Act 1 Quarantine
29 -
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Pandemic Figure 3 Domestic Workers
57 -
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Act 2 Lockdown
62 -
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Pandemic Figure 4 Nonessential Workers
94 -
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Act 3 Social Distancing
98 -
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Pandemic Figure 5 Migrant Workers
133 -
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Coda
137 -
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Notes
149 -
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References
177 -
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Index
195
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
November 4, 2025
eBook ISBN:
9780520416208
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
226
eBook ISBN:
9780520416208
Keywords for this book
pandemic soundscapes; sensory anthropology; public health communication; sonic governance; sound and society; everyday surveillance; audio media practices; crisis response tools; embodied research methods; ethnographic listening; neighborhood soundscapes; acoustic intervention; urban resilience; care infrastructures; multisensory research.
