Digital Media, Soundscapes, and Civic Engagement in a Globalised World

This book examines the transformative role of soundscapes and digital communication technologies in shaping listening practices, cultural identity, social cohesion, and civic engagement. Centred on the concept of Listening as Civic Infrastructure, this book argues that listening-long overlooked in speech-centric models of democracy-is a vital and active form of civic participation in multicultural, digitally mediated societies. Through ethnographic research with Sri Lankan migrants in Melbourne, this book explores how digital 'noise' intersects to influence memory, belonging, and the dynamics of global civil discourse. It bridges sound studies, digital media research, and migration studies, offering innovative methodologies such as sonic ethnography and artography. It provides readers with rich case studies, theoretical insights, and practical frameworks for understanding how to shape individual and collective identities. Through its key concepts-Sonic Citizenship, Mediated Listening Publics, Digital Noise, and Audibility-this book illuminates how sound functions as a civic infrastructure for displaced communities. By linking physical and digital environments, this book highlights the critical role of sound and communication technologies in fostering resilience, cultural preservation, and civic participation. Designed for scholars, postgraduate students, and practitioners in sound studies, media studies, and migration studies, and democratic theory, this book also appeals to professionals interested in digital communication, cultural preservation, and community-building initiatives. Its interdisciplinary approach ensures relevance for both academic and professional audiences across disciplines. This book includes an accompanying audio artwork created as part of the research project, accessible online. This sonic artefact offers a practical extension of this book's themes, allowing readers to engage with the auditory dimension of the research firsthand.

Tharupathi Munasinghe is a Sri Lankan-born sound ethnographer and ethnomusicologist, composer, and media scholar affiliated with the University of Melbourne, where he is a Teaching Associate in the School of Culture and Communication, the Faculty of Arts. He holds a PhD in Sound Ethnography, situated within sound anthropology, from Deakin University and a Master of Sound Design from the University of Melbourne. His research brings together sound studies, digital media, migration scholarship, and democratic theory, with a focus on listening, memory, and civic participation. He has worked as a composer and sound designer across film, television, and theatre productions in Sri Lanka and Australia.

INTRODUCTION 1. DIGITAL MEDIA, SOUNDSCAPES, AND CIVIC LIFE 2. SOUNDSCAPES ON THE MOVE 3. MEDIATED LISTENING AND EVERYDAY CIVIC ENGAGEMENT 4. DIGITAL NOISE AND THE POLITICS OF AUDIBILITY 5. CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN A GLOBALISED WORLD 6. FUTURE DIRECTIONS