BP 4+5

Without sound, there is no language. Without language, there is no technology. One can popcorn off the other. Yes, there are other methods of communication without the need of sound, but they haven’t had the impact of the spoken word. Sign language has been a powerful form of communication for the disabled, but the hands can only express so much. The spoken language express emotions and communicate more precisely, as well as effectively.

We can see the way language and sound is used in politics. How they influence the technology and infrastructure around us. In “Do Artifacts Have Politics?” by Langdon Winner, we see a bit of the thought processes behind certain technological development projects throughout the country. The politics and the injustice that was behind the creation of the parkways throughout Long Island. All of it done through language and sound in the form of manipulation. Once Robert Moses’ projects have been approved, he established his belief in separation of the classes and the races.

“Robert Moses, the master builder of roads, parks, bridges, and other public works from the 1920s to the 1970s in New York, had these overpasses build to specifications that would discourage the presence of buses on his parkways.” Robert Moses can be seen as an example of how sound and language can affect the technological advancement of a civilization.

Politicking can take many streets and avenues. Everyone is involved with politic, whether you vote or don’t vote. Whether your voice is loud or nonexistent. Technology is one such avenue used to manipulate the system.

In W.E.B. DU Bois’ “The Souls of Black Folk”, he shows us how sound and language is used to criticize society. Music is not only a form of expression but can also form of bonds and relationships. We can how music is used an expression for African’s who have been taken from their homes and forced into slavery.

A primitive African song was sung and passed down to their children. You can hear the feelings and expressions that come from it. Although, the meaning of the song has been lost in translation to many. The sound and old language can still be used to get a message across. Du Bois goes on the translate the song,

“You may bury me in the East, You may bury me in the West, But I’ll hear the trumpet sound in the morning,”

In Jonathan Lethem’s “The Ecstasy of Influence”, technology can be seen to enhance the sounds and the use of music. Technology has brought upon better tools to create and modify these sounds over the years. Technology has even been able to expand genres and spread messages more effectively without many people noticing. Songs that developed from the cotton field were

In Jonathan Lethem’s “The Ecstasy of Influence”, “Blues and jazz musicians have long been enabled by an “open source” culture, in which preexisting melodic fragments and larger musical frameworks are freely worked. Technology has only multiplied the possibilities…” Technology has brought upon better tools to create and modify these sounds over the years. It has even been able to expand genres and spread messages more effectively without many people noticing. Being able to record music in the 30s to 40s where the blues and jazz began to find popularity. The spread of African American culture can be seen through this spread as well, similar to what Du Bois talks about.