Music More than Human

What can music tells us about humans’ relations with the natural world? How do the arts advance our understanding of sustainability?

Lecture/Performance: Oct 28th, 2015 at 4:30pm –  Music More than Human –  David Rothenberg will be presenting a free lecture on his work at the Wexner Center for the Arts.

Workshop: Oct 29, 2015 from 2pm – 4pm – Making Music With Animal Recordings – David Rothenberg will teach us how to transform digitized animal vocalizations into electronic music for humans to enjoy. Meet us in the Department of Art computer lab in Hopkins Hall, room 180.

Philosopher, musician and long­time editor of the ecological journal T​erra Nova,​ David Rothenberg has, for many years now, been pursuing a project to play music with other living species: birds, whales, insects and others. He has written about the project in a series of award­ winning books, including W​hy Birds Sing​ (2006), T​housand ­Mile Song​(2010),​ rothenbergSurvival of the Beautiful: Art, Science and Evolution​(2013), and B​ug Music (2014). H​is latest CD featuring live performances with nightingales is​ B​erlin Bülbül,​made together with​ Korhan Erel,​ came out in June of 2015.

Rothenberg’s visit is sponsored by the Humanities Institute as part of the 2015­16 COMPAS discussion theme on Sustainability. It is co­sponsored by the Living Culture Initiative (Art), the School of Music, BioPresence ​(a project of Animal Worlds in the Arts, Sciences and the Humanities), and the Borror Laboratory of BioAcoustics.

Animal Metamorphoses in Greek Myth

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Arachne, by Gustave Doré

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Actaeon

November 6 in Hopkins Hall, room 362, 2-4 pm.

Sarah Iles JohnstonProfessor Sarah Iles Johnston (Classics) will present some of her work on animal metamorphoses that will figure prominently in her forthcoming book on mythology. In this session she will focus on the ancient Greek fascination with myths in which gods turn people into animals. Her discussion will lead into two broader issues about the location of human identity and the conceptualization of the relationship between animals and humans.

We are particularly grateful to Professor Merrill Kaplan (English) who has agreed to serve as a respondent to Professor Johnston and to help broaden our conversation in a variety of directions.