Drever, John L.. 2023. Aural Diverse Spatial Perception: From Paracusis to Panacusis Loci. In: John L. Drever, ed. The Routledge Companion to the Sound of Space. Abingdon: Routledge. [Book Section] (Forthcoming)

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Abstract or Description

Human biology and allied fields have a tendency to presuppose a multimodal subject who intuits space predominantly via binocular vision. This sensual-spatial hierarchy, with fractional input from the other senses including hearing, touch, balance, and proprioception, offer discreet spatial information to help reaffirm the visual scene. Flipping this paradigm, this chapter presents an unabashed (re)prioritisation of the sense of hearing vis-à-vis spatial acuity. Significantly, deviating from the standard auraltypical textbook’s positing of a perfectly calibrated pair of symmetrical ears positioned at the sides of the cranium – a normative model that has been ineluctably inscribed into our audio technologies and the fabric of environments we have fashioned and inhabit, informing who gets to hear what: signal, noise, ambience ¬– this chapter will offer a fuller account of spatial hearing within the frame of the nascent discourse of auraldiversity (Drever 2017; Drever & Hugill 2022). Encompassing impairment theory, auraldiversity considers limitations such as asymmetrical hearing and goes beyond, incorporating spatial hearing that exceeds the prescribed normative model, such as echolocation, hyperlocalisation and the boundless space of the imagination. Finally, the chapter demonstrates the pressing need to learn from those with sensory impairment who require optimal context specific acoustics and sound design to support spatial awareness.

Item Type:	Book Section
Keywords:	aural diversity, spatial perception, paracusis loci, panacusis loci, surround sound
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Music > Unit for Sound Practice Research Music
Dates:	Date Event 9 December 2023 Submitted
Item ID:	34480
Date Deposited:	11 Dec 2023 09:29
Last Modified:	11 Dec 2023 09:29
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/34480

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