Paper short abstract:

Taking onto account studies on soundscape, acoustic design, and acoustemology, and by means of some ethnographic case studies, this paper proposes some "points of listening": perspectives on hearing (the Second Sense) as a tool to access the world and to understand it.

Paper long abstract:

The Second Sense is hearing, because the first one is sight.

In the hierarchy of senses the primacy of the eye marks the contemporary imagination, and it is common sense to refer to eye-centric culture, visualism, iconism. Cultural anthropology makes no exception: its scientific methodology of "field research" is based on the "participant observation". This paper investigates the role of hearing and listening in the work of the anthropologist: ethnography as an acquisition practice, and, most of all, as a representation of culture.

Taking onto account studies on soundscape, acoustic design, and acoustemology, and by means of some ethnographic case studies, this paper proposes some "points of listening": perspectives on hearing (the Second Sense) as a tool to access the world and to understand it.