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The sound of history and acoustic memory: Where psychology and history converge

Historians have reconstructed the past mainly by the study of texts; only recently have they turned their attention to the analysis of images. They have abstained almost entirely, however, from using their ears when exploring the past: they have been content with the sound of silence. This can be explained in part by the scarcity of authentic acoustic sources which have existed only for the time period since about 1900. Historical studies focusing on the function of listening in the past, the soundscapes of earlier epochs and the significance of acoustic signals are rare. This article attempts to sketch the social and cultural meaning of listening and the impact of our perception of sounds on our view of the world; it shows what historians can hear of the past and what remains inaudible; it discusses the effects of the inaudibility of the past on our historical understanding; and finally it presents some new perspectives for historical research dealing with the history of listening, with historical soundscapes and their meaning.