Kyle Johnson
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Podcasting
the Humanities: Producing Art Music
Perspectives
According to Edison Media Research, one in
four Americans between the ages of 12 and 54 have listened to a podcast in the
past month (a higher percentage of Americans than Twitter users in the same
time frame).[1]
The digital medium currently has a 57 million-person audience in the United
States, with most listeners consuming five or more shows per week.[2] Content
within the humanities, in particular, translates well to this new form of
digital media. For example, podcasts such as Philosophize This! deliver weekly, thirty-minute doses of a
specific topic or notable philosopher in history; RadioLab weaves engaging “stories and science into sound and
music-rich documentaries”[3];
finally, Meet the Composer features
the concert footage and interviews of renown living composers and performers.
Consumers experience both music and podcasts as
an easily-accessible sonic experience, which is why podcasting can be a
relevant, creative approach to delving into topics within music, history, and multidisciplinary
projects. After briefly discussing the emergence in the early 2000s of this
digital form, I will discuss my own work and creative process on research
related to Olivier Messiaen’s Catalog
d’Oiseaux. Using examples from my own podcast series, Art Music Perspectives, I will explain the possibilities and
restraints of effective podcasting. Finally, my hope is that the presentation will
inspire others within academia to explore podcasting as a means to share their
own course content, individual projects, and research in an engaging way.
Posts
