The Show with the Voice: An [Au]/-[o]-tophonographic Parody

Authors

  • David D.J. Sander Scheidt La Trobe University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-9.2.409

Keywords:

voice, writing, performativity, communication, autobiography, fictocriticism, subjectivity, audience, gender

Abstract

According to my claim that voice as a phenomenon cannot be materialised or located, neither in the (voice organ of the) self nor in the (ear of the) other, I coined the term [au]/[o]-tophonography for my examination of the possibilities of performing subjectivity in writing and in sound productions. Drawing on the theory of performativity in its deconstructive senses (see BUTLER, 1993, 1997, 1999/1990; DERRIDA, 1988/1972, 1997/1967, 2002/1981; SMITH, 1995) my performative epistemology reaches beyond the theoretical, including the practical and the aesthetical, aiming at questioning notions of "self", "audience", "voice", "writing" and "communication". "The show with the voice" (http://www.qualitative-research.net/fqs-texte/2-08/08-2-27_audio.mp3) is an example of this practice. It parodies the medico-scientific approach to the human voice by presenting some of its possible appearances (the "normal", the "disordered", the "homosexual" and the "transsexual" voice) in an audio collage that takes the shape of a mock tutorial. Through re-contextualising and re-compiling voice samples from different sources that are usually kept apart (e.g. the lecturer's voice, the researcher's voice, the artist's voice, the autobiographer's voice) I open a space for a multidisciplinary and creative perspective to the examination of voice. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0802279

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Author Biography

David D.J. Sander Scheidt, La Trobe University

David SCHEIDT is currently doing his PhD at the School of Communication, Arts, and Critical Enquiry, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. In his doctoral project he is taking a performative approach to autobiography, producing a collection of theoretical essays, creative writing and sound performances with a special focus on notions of "voice" and "gender". He has been trained as a speech pathologist in Germany and is currently working as a clinical educator at a student voice clinic in Melbourne.

Published

2008-05-31

How to Cite

Scheidt, D. D. S. (2008). The Show with the Voice: An [Au]/-[o]-tophonographic Parody. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-9.2.409