Sound Tactics: Auditory Power in Political Protests(27 RSA Series in Transdisciplinary Rhetoric)

From call-and-response chants to the noise of pots and pans, protests are often defined by their sounds. In this book, Justin Eckstein argues that this is not merely the result of catchy slogans; it is due to sound’s ability to hold those in power accountable. Sound Tactics highlights how, in a world grappling with the uncertainty of emergent digital practices, social movements utilize the rhetorical power of sound. Eckstein uses the waveform as a metaphor for the persuasive potential of sound. Examining the case studies of the March for Our Lives protest, Howard University’s #HUResist movement, and the Casseroles protest in Montreal, Eckstein demonstrates how changes to the immediacy, intensity, and immersiveness of sound can affect the power of an argument. The collective use of sound in these case studies conveys the unity of the protesters in their demand for change and underlines the strength of their argument to those in power. More than just the written word spoken aloud, sound has unique layers of added meaning—it can convey length of time, demand attention, and signal disapproval. Eckstein’s study unpacks those layers for scholars and students as well as activists interested in deploying sound for change.

About the Author :
Justin Eckstein is Associate Professor of Communication, Media, and Design Arts at Pacific Lutheran University and Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington. He is the coeditor of Cookery: Food Rhetorics and Social Production.

Review :
“Eckstein’s book is a rich examination of how sound can be used for change in the context of contemporary North American political protests. To this end, the book offers many lucrative concepts and generative discussion points for future scholarship and classroom conversations. The case studies are incredibly salient to contemporary North American issues and provide essential immediate histories for present-day conflicts such as gun control, university oversight, and control of public freedoms.” —Cheyenne Zaremba Critical Studies in Media Communication “Sound Tactics is a sophisticated, sonic account of kairos in contemporary social movements—in our streets and on our screens, through chants and screams and silences, and using voices and megaphones and amplified speakers.” —Joshua Gunn, author of Political Perversion: Rhetorical Aberration in the Time of Trumpeteering