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The object of listening

Listening is often figured as most valuable for assisting comprehension and understanding. This article raises questions with the way in which this analysis has developed and the role it plays in defining particular kinds of subjects in what the author describes as ‘civic spaces’. In particular, the idea of an essentialized listening deployed in strategies to develop ‘good listeners’ is critiqued. The article uses various examples including films and public sound installations to address the ways in which attention and distraction can be engaged to think differently about the object of listening.