Towards Critical Immersion Studies

One day workshop with talks.

Concept

In the early 21st century, immersion has become a pivotal concept in the creation and experience of sound and sensory artefacts. It is discussed from the perspectives of media technology and history, musical aesthetics, the poetics of sound art, critical theory, the anthropology of the senses and multisensory design. Rather than settling on a single definition, we treat immersion as a multifaceted concept that generates critical reflections on its functions, practices, technologies and imaginaries.

This workshop is conceived as an intimate gathering of researchers, artists, and practitioners who share an interest in these questions, and will be held online on Zoom and in person at the Technische Universität Berlin. The format combines focused listening sessions with short impulse presentations and open discussion, allowing for genuinely exploratory conversations across disciplinary perspectives.

We are honoured to welcome an impressive line-up of scholars and artists who have a long-standing professional and critical engagement with questions regarding immersion: Will Schrimshaw (Sheffield, UK), Stefan Weinzierl (Berlin, DE), Jacqueline Waldock (Liverpool, UK), Dugal McKinnon (Wellington, NZ), Angela McArthur (London, UK), Gerriet K. Sharma (Berlin, DE) and Holger Schulze (Copenhagen, DK). This workshop will serve as a first step towards a larger follow-up symposium planned for Copenhagen.

If you wish to participate and receive the Zoom link, please write to us at criticalimmersion@soundstudieslab.org.

Programme

10:00 Arrival & Welcome (Sharma & Schulze)
10:30 Listening Session (two examples, 8-12 minutes each)
11:00 Impulse Presentations I (two talks, 15-20 minutes each):

Will Schrimshaw (Sheffield, UK)
Ambience and Immersion in the Domestic Sphere

Stefan Weinzierl (Berlin, DE):
Acoustic Immersion - Understanding and Measurement Concepts
11:45 Discussion
12:30 Lunch break
14:00 Impulse Presentations II (two talks, 15-20 minutes each)

Jacqueline Waldock (Liverpool, UK)
Rethinking Immersion Through Everyday Sonic Practices

Dugal McKinnon (Wellington, NZ):
Ecologising Immersion
14:45 Discussion
15:30 Coffee break
16:00 Listening Session (two examples, 8-12 minutes each)
16:30 Impulse Presentations III (two talks, 15-20 minutes each)

Angela McArthur (London, UK):
immersion: how to feel like you feel when you don’t feel

Gerriet K. Sharma (Berlin, DE):
Resonant Presences and Future Spatiality: Sculptural Sound and Critical Immersion Studies for Hybrid Sonic Societies
17:15 Discussion
18:15 Summary and Farewell