Sound Tactics

Know about the book -

Sound Tactics is written by Justin Eckstein and published by Penn State Press. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 0271099720 (ISBN 10) and 9780271099729 (ISBN 13).

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 protestors 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.