The course will examine antecedents to the podcast, including early twentieth-century radio plays (The War of the Worlds), avant-garde audio productions (Antonin Artaud’s To Have Done with the Judgment of God, Luigi Russolo’s Art of Noise), and oral histories (Studs Terkel). Alongside this historical arc, we will listen to and analyze a range of podcasts, including serialized narrative works, analytical podcasts, and interview-based series (Serial, S-Town, The Truth, SongExploder, etc.). You will also learn audio production techniques to make your own podcasts and you will have the opportunity to produce different genres. No prior experience with audio editing is necessary, only an interest in experimenting with sound.
Podcasting
Podcasting has become one of the most popular ways of disseminating the voice, supplanting radio. It has even been a primary driver of the growth of music streaming services like Spotify. This creative-critical seminar situates the podcast historically, analyzes current instantiations of the genre, and teaches hands-on skills to create your own podcasts. The course also frames podcasts as a form of asynchronous dialogue that can be critically engaged with and utilized as a mechanism to comment on societal issues.