In the words of Sue Silvester from Glee…when I’m not receiving a Nobel prize or performing a citizen’s arrest, I am a phd/abd candidate at Simon Fraser University at the Faculty of Education; my research is about exploring the epistemological implications of everyday listening in the world of mediated aurality. I started out studying sound, acoustic ecology and composition with Barry Truax at the School of Communication (which I still think of as my home in a way). Then I did a Masters at the School for Interactive Arts and Technologies (SIAT) with Ron Wakkary and Alissa Antle where I worked on a number of great interactive sound design projects (see my Projects page when I get around to updating it). These projects include an ambient intelligent game, a physical user interface environment, a tangible interaction project with kids, a mixed-media installation, a public art project, several Flash game sound projects, and a kinetic sonic interactive display system prototype for the Solar Decathlon 2007-9 for SFU’s contributions to Team North. (Team North was in 4th place). In my latest home, at the faculty of Education, I’ve worked on a cross-faculty team project aimed at evaluating educational sustainability. Now in 2011 I am working on an SRI-led project headed by Dr. Suzanne de Castell, Dr. Jen Jenson and post-doc Dr. Nick Taylor. This project – VERUS – explores the real and virtual characteristics of online MMOG players and is part of a long lineage of de Castell and Jenson’s work with ludic epistemologies, (educational) gaming as well as cultural and gender aspects of game culture.
Once upon a time I also did a fair bit of electroacoustic composition, particularly 8-track surround recordings and even had a year’s composer residency with CBC’s Outfront Deep Wireless program back in 2005. My Master’s degree was very much about sound-as-information, and purposeful design, and while it taught me many practical skills and tickled the good old Right Brain, I am more than happy to be returning, in my phd, to more theoretical aspects of acoustic ecology and question the way we listen in everyday life. What I always wanted to do more of, before design, is ethnography, and so I came to the Faculty of Education specifically to work with Suzanne de Castell whose decades of work on media epistemologies has been a giant inspiration and opportunity for academic growth. I came without much knowledge of ethnograpy, not to mention philosophical and critical theory background and her mentorship and guidance have been invaluable and critical to my dissertation journey, from formulating a meaningful topic and selecting relevant literature to coming up with a proposal and doing “the study”. My analysis and 250-ish pages of wisdoms, shortly forthcoming. And by shortly I mean at least another year…
Many people serve as inspiration for the “sound” bits of my work and I’d like to mention a few: my soundscape studies mentors Barry Truax, Hildegard Westerkamp, Norbert Ruebsaat; and my ICAD mentors, Mikael Førnstrom, Bruce Walker, Thomas Hermann, Alberto del Campo, Derek Brock, Terri Bonebright and I’m sure I’m missing others. I’m also thankful to have a local community of fellow grad students/soundscape thinkers and the Vancouver Soundwalking Collective.
This is a semi-academic, semi-personal pet project site that deals with sound and audio, technology, games and other goodies. Contains thoughts, reviews and a few purely selfish rants.