Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (DDF) Internal Deadline: February 1, 2016 at 12:00 NOON

The Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (DDF), which includes a $23,000 stipend, is intended to give the University's most accomplished Ph.D. candidates an opportunity to devote full-time effort to an outstanding research project by providing time to finalize and write a dissertation during the 2016-2017 fellowship year.  It is expected that Fellows will graduate no later than December 2017. To be considered for nomination by the department, submit your application materials, including your 2 letters of recommendation, to Melanie (stein196@umn.edu) by the department's internal deadline of February 1, 2016 at 12:00 NOON.

Please note: If, in 2016-17, you will be entering your sixth year or later, please include with your application a note with a statement of explanation for being outside the general guidelines of eligibility.

Click here for the Graduate School's complete program and eligibility information and instructions:
http://www.grad.umn.edu/funding-tuition-fellowships-grants/ddf

"Singing Our History: People and Places of the Red Lake Nation" Exhibition Opening

THE KATHERINE E. NASH GALLERY has a new exhibit opening in January titled “Singing Our History: People and Places of the Red Lake Nation.” The exhibit was curated by Associate Professor Brenda Child with the help of American Studies graduate students Amber Annis, Rose Miron, Sasha Suarez, and Joseph Whitson, along with Margaret Flood (Art History), Amber White (Art), and Frankie McNamara (Augsburg College). The exhibition will run from January 19^th – February 13^th, 2016. There will be a public reception on Saturday, January 23^rd from 6:00 – 9:00pm and will feature Ojibwe drums, food and culture. Click here for more information.

UMN Graduate Research Internship

  THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA GRADUATE SCHOOL is pleased to announce a request for proposals for their 2016 Graduate Research Internship. The program is to support research-based internships that foster and expand connections with industry, government, and non-profit sectors. Applications are due at Noon on Tuesday, March 22^nd, 2016. See below for full information.



Request for Proposals
University of Minnesota Graduate School
Graduate Research Internship for 2016

 

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Noon on Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Overview
In a continuing effort to broaden research experiences and career options for graduate students, the Graduate School will again support research-based internships in 2016. The goal of the program is to expand the network of partners in industry, government, and the non-profit sectors offering internships to students pursuing advanced degrees, and to encourage students who otherwise might not consider an internship to explore this possibility. Because we are seeking to expand available opportunities, priority consideration will be given to proposals from students in fields currently without well-established pathways to internships as a regular part of their graduate student training. For students in programs where opportunities for internships exist, priority consideration will be given to proposals for experiences that would not typically be supported by the student's program. This year, the program has been expanded to include students in research-based master's (Plan A) programs. Internship awards will provide a stipend, and will include health insurance coverage for eligible students not already covered by the University for summer 2016. We anticipate offering at least twenty-five (25) awards. 

Eligibility
Students in research-based doctoral (Ph.D. and D.M.A.) and master's programs (Plan A) are eligible for the award. Students must be considered to be in good standing in their programs, and must hold active status. Students may not hold any other University appointment (e.g., graduate assistantship, traineeship, fellowship) during the paid internship period. This restriction does not apply to non-University employment or fellowships not administered by the University. In order to receive the award, students must agree to the terms of the Board of Regents policy on intellectual property (IP) rights . If the proposed research involves human subjects, students must demonstrate that they have obtained the proper IRB approval from the Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) prior to commencing the project.

Award Information
The Graduate School will provide stipends of up to $4,000 to support internships of 10 or more weeks between May 30, 2016 and August 28, 2016. A weekly stipend of $400 will be provided for internships lasting less than 10 weeks. Students will be appointed as Graduate School Fellows during the internship period, and will receive their stipend through University payroll on a biweekly schedule. The award will also include health insurance through the Graduate Assistant Health Plan for eligible students without summer coverage.

Students may accept additional stipends offered by their internship host of up to $1,500. However, additional stipends above $1,500 will be deducted from the $4,000 Graduate School award, such that the total combined Graduate School and host site amount does not exceed $5,500. 

Selection Criteria
Proposals will be reviewed by a committee consisting of faculty and staff, and should include the following:

• A description of the proposed internship research project.
• How will the proposed project complement and support the student's doctoral dissertation or Plan A thesis research?
• What resources and/or experiences will the student have access to through the internship that would otherwise not be available through her/his program?
• How will the internship experience advance the student's research skills, and/or career readiness and options?
• A letter of support from the student's academic advisor(s) supporting the proposed research and internship experience.

In addition, proposals must include the following information from the host company/organization:

• What support/opportunities will be offered to the intern to ensure a productive internship experience (e.g., on-site mentoring, training opportunities, interacting with other members of the organization)?
• How will the research conducted by the student during the internship benefit the organization?
• Will the organization provide a stipend and/or fringe benefits for the student? If so, in what amount. If not, please provide reasons.

Post-Award Requirements
Students will be required to complete a brief online evaluation of their experience after completing the internship summarizing:

• The expectations and goals the student had for the internship and whether these were met.
• The research that the student expected to conduct during the internship and whether it was completed.
• The benefits to the host site and the student as a result of the internship.
• How well the experience met the student's overall expectations.
• Major achievements and activities of the internship.
• What could be done to improve the internship experience?

Students will also be asked how the internship advanced their dissertation research, academic preparation, professional development, and/or career planning.

Proposal Submission and Deadline
Proposals should be submitted online, and can be accessed here. In order to be considered, the proposal must be complete and submitted by Noon on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 . Students are responsible for submitting the information required from the host site.  It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all parts of the proposal have been submitted and received by the deadline. Awards will be announced by early May.

For questions regarding the 2016 Graduate Research Internship Program, please contact gsdean@umn.edu.

Fall 2015 Prelim Exams Milestones

FALL 2015 PRELIM EXAMS MILESTONES: Rose Miron has passed her preliminary portfolio & oral exams and has attained doctoral candidacy.

Steven J. Schochet Endowment Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship. Internal deadline: Friday, January 29, 2016, 12:00 Noon.

The Steven J. Schochet Endowment is offering an Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship in Queer, Trans, and Sexuality Studies, which includes $22,000, for the 2016-2017 academic year. Applicants must have passed the written & oral prelim exams and will have completed all program coursework including thesis credits by the end of spring semester 2016. Though no departmental nomination is required for application, there is an internal deadline based on the GLBTA Program Office requirement that applications be submitted by the department, rather than directly from the applicants.  To apply, submit all application materials, including your adviser letter of support, directly to Melanie (stein196@umn.edu) by the departmental internal deadline: Friday, January 29, 2016, 12:00 Noon.

About the Fellowship:
The Schochet Interdisciplinary Dissertation Fellowship in Queer, Trans, and Sexuality Studies provides $22,000 to a PhD candidate who is pursuing research in the areas of queer, trans, and sexuality studies. This dissertation fellowship will be awarded to one PhD candidate during the 2016-2107 academic year (September-May). Applications for this fellowship are sought from persons of diverse backgrounds, particularly those from underrepresented and marginalized communities.

Click here for complete award information including application form.
https://diversity.umn.edu/glbta/sites/diversity.umn.edu.glbta/files/Schochet%20Interdisciplinary%20Fellowship%20-%202016_2017.pdf

MCTC Women and Gender Studies Instructor

MINNEAPOLIS COMMUNITY and TECHNICAL COLLEGE is pleased to announce an open Women & Gender Studies Instructor position beginning Fall 2016. Click here for more information and to apply.

Univ. of Florida Lecturer Position

UNIVERSITY of FLORIDA is pleased to announce applications are open for a lecturer position to teach their Humanities Common Course IUF 1000: What is the Good Life? Click here for more information and to apply.

Annual Student Activities Report (SAR) DUE: Feb. 1 ---- Annual Adviser meetings: February 1 - 19

The graduate school requires an annual review of student progress for each graduate student.  The department process for annual review includes a meeting with your adviser(s).  Please make an appointment with your adviser(s) to discuss your academic progress toward the degree.  Goals, problems, research interests, and timelines for completion should be reviewed.  Meetings should be scheduled between February 1 and February 19. After the meeting, your adviser will submit a brief written report to the DGS.  We will be in contact with each adviser to remind them of the department process and deadlines.

Students are also required to submit a Student Activities Report (SAR) each calendar year. Cumulative information from collected SARs -- which includes information about research, teaching, publication, conference participation, honors, and service activities in the 2015 calendar year-- is important for the department, graduate school, and college in assessing the activities of the graduate program.  Please submit your SAR (template linked here) to Melanie (stein196@umn.edu) by Monday, February 1, 2016.  We encourage you to submit a copy of this report to your adviser at this time as well as advisers have noted that your SAR is a helpful guide to facilitate a broader discussion of your research and professional goals.

For more information on the annual review please check the Graduate Handbook, available at
http://americanstudies.umn.edu/grad/handbook.html

Penn DCC Postdoc Fellowship

THE PENN PROGRAM on DEMOCRACY, CITIZENSHIP, and CONSITUTIONALISM (DCC) is pleased to announce applications are open for their one-year DCC Postdoctoral Fellowship in any discipline whose research is pertinent to the Program’s 2016-17 theme, “Citizenship on the Edge: Sex/Gender/Race.” Click here to learn more and apply.

Miron Earns UMN Nomination for Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fellowship

ROSE MIRON has been put forward as one of the UMN nominations for the national level competition of the Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fellowship.

Miron Awarded Humanities Without Walls Pre-Doctoral Fellowship

ROSE MIRON has been awarded a Humanities Without Walls Pre-Doctoral Fellowship for 2016.

Brown University Ruth J. Simmons Postdoc for Study of Slavery & Justice

THE CENTER for the STUDY of SLAVERY & JUSTICE at Brown University is pleased to announce applications are open for the Ruth J. Simmons Postdoctoral Fellowship for the Study of Slavery & Justice for the 2016-2017academic year. They are looking for applicants who look at either historical or contemporary slavery and injustice through a variety of different lenses. Click here for more for information and to apply.

ArtH 3005: American Art

ART HISTORY is offering ArtH 3005: American Art this spring on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:15am – 12:30pm. The course will be taught by Professor Jennifer Marshall and meets the Lib Ed requirement for Arts/Humanities. 

 

Keeler Awarded IAS Community of Scholars Program Residential Fellow

Kasey Keeler, PhD Candidate, has been awarded the Community of Scholars Program Residential Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study for Spring 2016.

Eddens awarded Yudof Fellowship for 2016-2017

Aaron Eddens PhD Candidate, has been awarded the Mark & Judy Yudof Fellowship for the 2016-2017 academic year.

Grad Instructors and TAs Clean out Offices and Return Keys

GRAD INSTRUCTORS & TAs with Scott Hall Offices: Please remove all personal items from your office and return your key to the department office by Wednesday, December 23^rd. If you have questions or would like to keep your office over the winter break please email Zac.

GWSS 8210 (002) Gender, Culture, and Capitalism

GENDER WOMEN & SEXUALITY STUDIES is offering GWSS 8210 (002): Gender, Culture, and Capitalism this spring 2016. Winton Chair in the Liberal Arts, Miranda Joseph will be teaching the course on alternate Fridays at 10:30am, starting January 29^th, 2016. 

Gender, Culture and Capitalism

GWSS 8210 (002) & Reading/Discussion Group 

Spring 2016, University of Minnesota

Facilitator Miranda Joseph, Winton Chair in the Liberal Arts

Meetings Alternate Fridays at 10:30am, starting January 29, 2016

This interdisciplinary reading/discussion group for faculty and graduate students will explore contemporary scholarship on the relationship of economic processes and social formations. We will focus on the constitutive relationship between financialized capitalism, hierarchies of gender and race, and the practices of everyday life.

Interested scholars from any discipline or interdisciplinary field are encouraged to participate!

To get started, we will read Maurizio Lazzarato’s Governing by Debt for January 29th. Additional readings will be selected collectively. And members of the group will be invited to share their own work in progress.

Some possible further readings include recent essays by Lisa Adkins (on financialized gender and temporality), Fiona Allon (on the financialized home/household), Marcia Klotz (on the religiousity of finance), Randy Martin (on the derivative and knowledge), Sarita Echavez See (on subprime subjects), recent issues of South Atlantic Quarterly: On Entrepreneurship and Rethinking Money, Debt and Finance after the Crisis, the American Quarterly issue on Race, Empire and the Crisis of the Subprime, and books such as:

• Crosthwaite, Knight and Marsh, Show Me the Money: The Image of Finance, 1700 to the Present
• Leigh Claire La Berge, Scandals and Abstraction: Financial Fiction of the Long 1980s
• Max Haiven, The Cultures of Financialization
• Martijn Konings, The Emotional Logic of Capitalism

NB: This group will be invited to help craft a visiting speaker series, to take place in late Spring 2016 and Fall 2016, that would expand on and enrich the work of the group.

Also: Graduate students wishing to get course credit for participation in this reading group should enroll in GWSS 8210(002). This graduate seminar will have additional student-only meetings on the non-reading group Fridays and will have some writing assignments.

Please contact Prof. Joseph with any questions at mirandaj@email.arizona.edu. 

IAF Grassroots Development PhD Fellowships

THE INTER-AMERICAN FOUNDATION Grassroots Development Ph.D. Fellowship Program applications are due 1/29/16. Applicants should be focused on both development and research in Latin America or the Caribbean.  Click here to learn more and to apply.

 
 

Bianet Castellanos Publication

BIANET CASTELLANOS has a new publication “Idealizing Maya Culture: The Pollitics of Race, Indigeneity and Immigration among Maya Restaurant Owners in Southern California.” It appears in the new volume of Diálogo 18(2) “Reframing Immigration in the Américas.”

UCRiverside tenure track Assistant Professor in Indigenous Studies

THE UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE is pleased to announce an open tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Indigenous Studies. Click here to learn more and apply.

Dr. Karma Chavez Job Talk

RIGS is hosting a job talk by Dr. Karma Chavez titled “Alternative Activisms: Latinx Farm Workers and the Rhetoric of HIV/AIDS” on Thursday, December 10^th in Walter 402 at 4:00pm.

 

Professor Chavez is Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Wisconsin.  Dr. Chavez’s scholarship is primarily informed by queer of color theory and women of color feminism. She is a rhetorical critic who variously utilizes textual and field based methods to study social movement building, activist rhetoric, and coalitional politics. Her work emphasizes the rhetorical practices of groups marginalized within existing power structures, and also attends to rhetoric produced by powerful institutions and actors about marginalized folks and the systems that oppress them (e.g., immigration system, prisons etc.). In 2013, she published her first book, Queer Migration Politics, which examines coalition building at the many intersections of queer and immigration politics in the contemporary United States. She is working on a new manuscript, AIDS Knows No Borders, which explores AIDS activism and organizing on the issue of immigration and within immigrant communities during what is often described as the height of the AIDS pandemic in North America (1981-1995).  Dr. Chavez earned her PhD at Arizona State University in 2007.

AFRO 8910: Caribbean Women Writers

AFRICAN AMERICAN & AFRICAN STUDIES is offering AFRO 8910: Caribbean Women Writers this spring 2016. The course will be taught by Njeri Githire on Tuesdays from 2:30 – 5:00pm. Click here for a course description.

AFRO 8910: Caribbean Women Writers:
Spring 2016                                        

With the award of the Man Booker prize to Jamaican-born Marlon James in October 2015, Caribbean literature has seen a popularity surge around the world. Indeed, James stands on the shoulders of literary greats, who have consistently dramatized the Caribbean experience in prose, poetry, drama, dance, song, and other artistic media. While the best known of them may be men (V. S. Naipaul, Trinidad, Man Booker in 1971; Nobel Prize in literature in 2001, and Derek Walcott, Saint Lucia, Nobel Prize in literature in 1992, among them), Caribbean women writers have undertaken to reimagine the region's history, inscribing their diverse perspectives on the literary landscape, and subverting the existing male discourses to re-order existing literary forms. Using different genres (novel, poetry, film, short stories, etc.,) this course seeks to understand how select Caribbean women writers attempt to foster a sense of awareness of, and belonging to, the Caribbean region.  How do these writers negotiate the burden of colonial legacy, the region’s history of slavery and its attendant stigmas, the fragmentation of Caribbean identity, as well as migration, exile, transnational and Diasporic realities in a complex, ever-changing and politicized world?

Course Objectives:
* Introduce students to the rich range of literary production from English, Spanish, French and Dutch-speaking Caribbean societies;
* Examine how gender, race, class and other markers of difference intersect and shape everyday interactions on the Caribbean;
* Discuss the role of language and culture;
* Explore the connections between spirituality and aesthetics, environment and social-political empowerment;
* Look at the complex relationships between popular culture and literature;
* Understand the different social-literary movements and concepts i.e., negritude, negrismo, indigenismo, mestizaje, marronage, caribbeanness, creoleness, as well as their cultural and aesthetic implications on the intra-regional and inter-regional level;
* Explore the characteristics of creolization as an ongoing process of hybridity, plurality and diversity.

UNLV Interdisciplinary/Gender and Sexuality Studies Faculty in Residence

THE UNIVERSITY of NEVADA, LAS VEGAS is pleased to announce an open Faculty in Residence position in Interdisciplinary/Gender & Sexuality Studies.

The UNLV Interdisciplinary Degree Programs invites applications for a Faculty-in-Residence to begin January 2016. This is a full-time, 9-month position. Primary responsibilities include teaching undergraduate courses in both Interdisciplinary Studies and Gender & Sexuality Studies; working with students; and participating in appropriate service in the department. Interdisciplinary Degree Programs houses a number of dynamic programs, offering both majors and minors in African American Studies, American Indian & Indigenous Studies, Asian Studies, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Latin American Studies, Latina/o Studies, Multidisciplinary Studies, and Social Science Studies. For more information, view our web site at: http://www.unlv.edu/interdisciplinary/

Qualifications include an earned doctorate in an interdisciplinary field from an accredited university, in hand by July 1, 2016; teaching experience; experience in interdisciplinary studies, including Gender & Sexuality Studies or Women’s Studies; experience with and commitment to a diverse student population.  Areas of specialization are open, although we seek a scholar with proficiencies in one or more of the following areas:  interdisciplinary studies; interdisciplinary/feminist research methods; race/ethnic, gender, class and sexuality studies; social justice. 

Submit a letter of application, a detailed curriculum vitae listing qualifications and experience, and three letters of recommendation. Applicants should fully describe their qualifications and experience, with specific reference to the minimum and preferred qualifications.

Although this position will remain open until filled, review of candidates’ materials will begin immediately.  Materials should be addressed to Dr. Anita Revilla, Search Committee Chair, and are to be submitted via on-line application at https://hrsearch.unlv.edu.  For assistance with UNLV’s on-line applicant portal, contact UNLV Employment Services at (702) 895-3504 or applicant.inquiry@unlv.edu.

American Studies Holiday Potluck

THE AMERICAN STUDIES HOLIDAY POTLUCK will be held on Friday, December 18^th from 6:00 – 8:00pm at the Solhavn Party Room (815 North 2^nd St, Minneapolis, MN 55401. All core and associate faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and staff are invited to celebrate the end of fall semester. Please RSVP here.

Occidental College Two Year American Studies Postdoc

OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE is pleased to announce applications are open for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in American Studies. The postdoc will teach undergraduate courses, foster collaboration with Los Angeles cultural organizations and community partners, and develop digital teaching and scholarship. Click here to learn more and apply.

OLPD 5080 Section 3: US Higher Education Overview

OLPD 5080, SECTION 3: US Higher Education Overview is a 1 credit seminar, taught by Dr. Gary Engstrand Wednesdays 3:30 – 5:00pm; Jan 20 – April 6. The seminar is intended for graduate students who are intent on becoming faculty members and will provide an overview of the institution and the industry. 

 

UC Davis Visiting Assitant Professor in Comparative Border Studies

THE UC DAVIS GRADUATE GROUP in CULTURAL STUDIES is pleased to announce a two year Visiting Assistant Professorship in Comparative Border Studies. They are looking for applicants who are specialists in research on one or more border zones, particularly in the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East. Click here to learn more and to apply.

Longtime UofM History Professor Hy Berman Passed Away

LONGTIME UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA history professor Hy Berman died last week. The funeral will be held on Thursday at 11:00am at Temple Israel, 2324 Emerson Ave. S. Minneapolis. Click on the links for MPR and Star Tribune stories about Hy Berman.

AMST 8201 Graduate Student Symposium

AMST 8201: HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS will be hosting the “Tracing American Studies Graduate Student Symposium” on Monday, December 14^th from 12:30 – 3:15pm in Scott Hall 105 (Commons). The five seminar participants from our first year cohort will present their work from this semester. 

Tracing American Studies Graduate Student Symposium

By AMST 8201: Historical Foundations (of American Studies)

Graduate Seminar Participants

Monday, December 14, 2015

12:30-3:15pm

Scott Hall Commons Room (1^st Floor)

Quick Schedule

12:30-12:40pm

Professor Kale B. Fajardo, Welcome and Introduction

12:40-1:00pm

Rachelle Henderson, “From Mulatta to Mixed Race: Black-White Mixed Race Women in Interracial Literature”

1:00-1:20pm

Chip Chang, “Mapping Afro-Asian Dialogues”

1:20-1:40pm

Brendan McHugh, “Rainbow Tours: Thom Bean's transnational activism, Queer political speaking tours, and Scientific Diasporas, 1989-1991”

1:40-2:00pm

Vanessa Guzman

“Anti-Migrant Sentiment and the Security-Migration Nexus Pre-and-Post 9/11”

2:00-2:20pm
Matthew Treon, “Noisy Dialogics: Auditioning Sound in American Cultural Studies”

2:20-2:40pm Q+A
2:45-3:15pm Light Refreshments


Abstracts

 

12:40-1:00pm: Rachelle Henderson, American Studies PhD Student

“From Mulatta to Mixed Race: Black-White Mixed Race Women in Interracial Literature”

Abstract: I explore the ways in which representations of mixed women in interracial literature have changed over time. Specifically, I explore the ways in which Fran Ross's Oreo (1974)  and Danzy Senna's Caucasia (1998) challenge nineteenth and early twentieth century representations of the tragic mulatta. 

1:00-1:20pm: Chip Chang, American Studies PhD Student

“Mapping Afro-Asian Dialogues”

Abstract: I trace the genealogy of Afro-Asian scholarship in ethnic studies, focusing on the ways in which it is presented and utilized. For instance, oftentimes Afro-Asian scholarship is used to show a history of solidarity between Blacks and Asian Americans, and is then used to argue for current inter-ethnic relations. This paper looks at past and recent scholarship to look at how Asian American studies as a field in ethnic studies has grown.

1:20-1:40pm: Brendan McHugh, American Studies PhD Student

“Rainbow Tours: Thom Bean's transnational activism, Queer political speaking tours, and Scientific Diasporas, 1989-1991”

Abstract: This paper explores an unwritten moment in queer history through the analytics of "the political economies of intimacy," post socialism, and Scientific Diasporas. It examines the interaction of a U.S. black gay activist, Thom Bean, and his meetings with a South African gay activist and a Russian gay activist while they were on speaking tours in the U.S. and the repercussions these meetings had on international LGBT activism in the first decades of the AIDS/HIV epidemic.

1:40-2:00pm: Vanessa Guzman, American Studies PhD Student

“Anti-Migrant Sentiment and the Security-Migration Nexus Pre-and-Post 9/11”

Abstract: This paper examines the ways scholars have approached how anti-migrant sentiment is formed, shaped, maintained and contested across time.  I will also address how perceived threats to ontological security helped to form the security-migration nexus and security regimes in the post 9/11 era.  

2:00-2:20pm: Matthew Treon, American Studies PhD Student
“Noisy Dialogics: Auditioning Sound in American Cultural Studies”

Abstract: This essay deals with ir/rational sound (historically positioned within American Studies discourse) and trades in theoretical lenses for listening. Borrowing analytical tools from Cultural Studies (especially that of the often visual-centric Birmingham Centre) and literary theory, this essay attempts to call attention to two of American Studies’ significant epistemological lineages while also demonstrating how semiotic codes overdetermined by visual language—still shedding the specter of Age-of-Enlightenment-thinking—cannot translate directly onto the study of sound. “Noisy Dialogics” asks what is lost in this translation? What and who are the remainders? How can rethinking the language of sound in cultural studies help to articulate new ways of meaning-making? And what are the politics involved in such a project? Inspired in part by Michael Denning’s recent call to “decolonize the ear,” this essay responds by carrying on a dialogue with emerging theories of sound and society, especially those that take up the political power of noise.