Rediscovering Silence(s)
Participation and timeline
You have the option to contribute a recording accompanied by a brief note and/or compose an analytical essay, drawing inspiration, at least partially, from the recordings and notes submitted by others.
The deadline for submitting testimonials is September 15, 2023. Please send your submissions to andrew.logutov@gmail.com.
If you are interested in submitting a paper (between 2,000 and 8,000 words), let me know by email by August 1, 2023. Short proposals should be submitted by October 15, 2023. Before that, I will provide you with all the recordings and notes, and you will have until January 15, 2024, to submit your completed work.
For additional information, please refer to the following two sections.
The deadline for submitting testimonials is September 15, 2023. Please send your submissions to andrew.logutov@gmail.com.
If you are interested in submitting a paper (between 2,000 and 8,000 words), let me know by email by August 1, 2023. Short proposals should be submitted by October 15, 2023. Before that, I will provide you with all the recordings and notes, and you will have until January 15, 2024, to submit your completed work.
For additional information, please refer to the following two sections.
Concept
In the words of John Cage, “[t]here’s no such thing as silence.” Nonetheless, it can be sought after, evaded, appreciated, dreaded, maintained, or disrupted. In the context of space, silence represents a continuous potential, acting as both a denial and confirmation of vastness and capacity. In his essay, Cage talks about his visit to an anechoic chamber, where he rediscovers silence. The reputed authority on silence and the renowned composer of 4'33'' comes to understand that the lack of sound detaches the self from its familiar grounding, forcing it to confront its own disquieting and almost unbearable physicality.
The existence of silence, whether as a term or a concept, is as unstable as its very nature. Some languages draw a distinction between silence as an absence of voice (German Schweigen, Russian molchániye) and silence as soundlessness (Stille, tishiná). It easily spills into the domains of affect (calm) and motion (stillness), politics (silenced voices) and ethics (tacit approval).
Silence never strives for objective perfection. There always exists some form of contamination, an external element, a disruption caused by the wind, far-off traffic, a bird’s song, or an intake of breath — disturbances of varying degrees that may, as a whole, still be perceived as silence. The search for silence is relatively undiscriminating and contingent: a room with a door might seem quiet in a bustling office, a location somewhat removed from a nearby highway might be perceived as an appropriate escape space, and so may an isolated courtyard in the heart of a noisy city.
In the context of the forced displacement that swiped Europe due to Russia’s hostilities towards Ukraine, many, including myself, have had to revisit the simplicity of silence. Discovering silence in an unfamiliar environment proves to be a more difficult task than it was in our previous homes. While inside the anechoic chamber, Cage observes the constant hum of his own nervous system, preventing him from experiencing total quietude. Silence transforms into its antithesis, serving as a potent reminder of one’s corporeality, impermanence, and disarray. Does the silence encountered by immigrants differ from what they experienced in their "previous lives?"
The project is not solely concerned with the immigrant experience. Nevertheless, I would like to explicitly concentrate on "newly discovered silences", on silences that are post something — those that are experienced in the wake of a traumatic event, a shift in surroundings, or any other kind of disturbance. Are those treasured or feared? Are they conducive to new meanings? What is their relation to the disruptions that cast us into their embrace?
The primary goal of the project is to gather audio samples and / or, generally speaking, testimonials of newly discovered silences, accompanied by notes. Subsequently, these will be enhanced with analytical essays authored by scholars from diverse disciplines, such as philosophy, literary history, anthropology, sociology, sound studies etc. The collected materials are planned to be published online in an interactive format by early 2024. Additionally, I will explore opportunities for print publication.
The existence of silence, whether as a term or a concept, is as unstable as its very nature. Some languages draw a distinction between silence as an absence of voice (German Schweigen, Russian molchániye) and silence as soundlessness (Stille, tishiná). It easily spills into the domains of affect (calm) and motion (stillness), politics (silenced voices) and ethics (tacit approval).
Silence never strives for objective perfection. There always exists some form of contamination, an external element, a disruption caused by the wind, far-off traffic, a bird’s song, or an intake of breath — disturbances of varying degrees that may, as a whole, still be perceived as silence. The search for silence is relatively undiscriminating and contingent: a room with a door might seem quiet in a bustling office, a location somewhat removed from a nearby highway might be perceived as an appropriate escape space, and so may an isolated courtyard in the heart of a noisy city.
In the context of the forced displacement that swiped Europe due to Russia’s hostilities towards Ukraine, many, including myself, have had to revisit the simplicity of silence. Discovering silence in an unfamiliar environment proves to be a more difficult task than it was in our previous homes. While inside the anechoic chamber, Cage observes the constant hum of his own nervous system, preventing him from experiencing total quietude. Silence transforms into its antithesis, serving as a potent reminder of one’s corporeality, impermanence, and disarray. Does the silence encountered by immigrants differ from what they experienced in their "previous lives?"
The project is not solely concerned with the immigrant experience. Nevertheless, I would like to explicitly concentrate on "newly discovered silences", on silences that are post something — those that are experienced in the wake of a traumatic event, a shift in surroundings, or any other kind of disturbance. Are those treasured or feared? Are they conducive to new meanings? What is their relation to the disruptions that cast us into their embrace?
The primary goal of the project is to gather audio samples and / or, generally speaking, testimonials of newly discovered silences, accompanied by notes. Subsequently, these will be enhanced with analytical essays authored by scholars from diverse disciplines, such as philosophy, literary history, anthropology, sociology, sound studies etc. The collected materials are planned to be published online in an interactive format by early 2024. Additionally, I will explore opportunities for print publication.
However, if you feel the need to submit a different set of data to document your silence, please feel free to contact me by email, and we will figure out together how to present your silence in the best possible way. You may want to refrain from recording at all (in which case I may ask you to indicate the fitting length of silence to accompany your submission in the spirit of 4’33’’), or you may to choose to include a recording of noise to attenuate your silence, or you may include some visual contributions that will speak more than just an audio.
Details
Content
Deadline
Testimonial submissions
- Recordings should be between 10 seconds and 5 minutes long. In some situations, if you want me to use a particular portion of your track, please specify timecodes where cuts should be made (e.g., "00:00:20 — 00:05:43"). If the file is too large, you can use a link to Dropbox or any other file sharing service. Higher definition formats such as .wav are preferred, although any other file types are welcome. All submissions will be revised and lightly edited (normalized etc.) before posting.
- Name and contact info. Please provide a name that will be linked to your submission. You can also include an email address, a web link or any other contact information of your choosing. If you wish to appear on the list of contributors, you can include a small bio.
- Your note on the sample can be anywhere between 10 and 500 words, in any language(s) or form. The preferred language is English. Feel free to send it as an attachment (pdf, Word, Open Office), or as part of the letter. You can write about the sound sample itself, your motives to pick this particular location or time, or anything else related to your listening experience. You can also choose to give your track a title. The note will be displayed as is.
- Location may be specified through coordinates / street address / place name.
- Please provide basic technical details, i.e. what equipment you used to record. E.g. "Android phone, built-in mic" or "Zoom recorder, directional mic." This might come in handy when I edit your submission.
- recording
- name and contact info
- note
- location
- technical info
September 15, 2023
Details
Content
Deadline
Paper submissions
Please let me know by August 1, 2023, if you are considering submitting a paper. Once all the recordings and notes have been submitted by September 15, 2023, I will grant you access to all the materials. You will then have one month to determine whether to proceed and to write a brief proposal.
Proposals are expected to be up to 300 words in length, while papers should range between 2,000 and 8,000 words.
The preferred language is English, but this is negotiable.
Proposals are expected to be up to 300 words in length, while papers should range between 2,000 and 8,000 words.
The preferred language is English, but this is negotiable.
The papers should be directly related to the general concept of the project and include references to the sound samples and notes provided by other participants.
August 1, 2023 for letters of intention
October 15, 2023 for short proposals
January 15, 2024 for full papers
October 15, 2023 for short proposals
January 15, 2024 for full papers
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
No, we do not have a political agenda, or engage in political campaigning. The objectives of our professional, non-profit association are to assist our emigrated colleagues and to conduct joint research with scholars around the world.
As you can see from the list of the projects of our association, the scope of our research is quite broad: from historical studies that shed light on the origins of current events to interdisciplinary research in political philosophy and political theory, epistemology and sociology, bioethics and medical humanities, philosophy of science and many others.
There are no restrictions. We welcome the participation of colleagues from any country.
We conduct our activities in various languages, mainly French, Russian and English.
No, IPHI was created as an international association with the objective of cooperation between researchers from different countries. IPHI will carry out projects that touch on all areas of humanities and social sciences. The association brings together researchers from different countries. The main languages of IPHI research projects are French, Russian, English and German, but other languages are also possible.
No, it is not obligatory. Everyone is free to choose whether or not to make information about themselves public. However, for those planning to publish descriptions of their projects on our website, their name is required, as our projects are not anonymous.
We welcome participation in our events and projects and are always open to new proposals. At the same time, we do not oblige members to participate; it is their voluntary decision.
We will be delighted to hear from Ukrainian colleagues who wish to join our projects and events. We treasure the cooperation and the opportunity to look at topical issues from different angles.
We cooperate with colleagues in Russia. However, we do not publish information about them on our website to avoid exposing them to additional risks.
In the future, we will prepare separate pages in the respective languages for projects concerning Ukraine, Belarus and other countries.
Join the association
We welcome you to join the Independent Institute of Philosophy Association if you share our values of liberty, oppose Russia's invasion of Ukraine, are eager to promote the development of critical philosophical thought, and are open to international collaboration in the social sciences and humanities.
