The Sonic Destruction of oikos: An Archaeology

As the planet we reside in undergoes the Wasteocene, this article will attempt to make sense of the destruction of home in terms of the auditory sense. Environmental noise, as a non-material form of pollution, usually goes undetected, especially in the urban context. Yet, it is malignant, and insidious, and its distribution is also political. Like other forms of ecological destruction, environmental hazards like noise disproportionately affect the most marginalized. Oikos , meaning home, the root of the word ecology , is considered to be a safe haven, a shield which is inside , supposedly protecting us from the harms of the outside . Noise, however, denies such boundaries: low-frequency sounds travel through walls, and inflict the bodies, home to our physical multitude. Noise suspends time as it stops me in my tracks. How do we think about home, then, if there are no longer boundaries but constant violations thereof? Following Lyotard, I will consider the oikos not only as a place of safety but also tragedy.