“听觉文化”与文化研究的陷阱——答王敦

Auditory Culture and the Trap of Cultural Studies——Reply to Wang Dun

"文化研究"对于文化政治的结构性问题呈现出特殊的"隔绝"方式。声音政治批评与听觉文化的对话,并非"补偿式""交互式"或者"学科性"的联系,而是特定的文化研究的政治诉求、学术理念和方法视野之间的碰撞。没有"听觉文化研究",还可以有"声音政治批评";而没有了"声音政治批评","听觉文化研究"不仅会变成知识化的陈述,还可能落入英美文化研究预设的"快感陷阱",沦为替声音的商品政治乃至文化政治的"听觉霸权"辩护的理论。王敦所倡导的"听觉文化研究",表面上只是拒绝"声音文化研究"概念,实际上却在努力用"听觉现代性"这个话题,把"听觉文化研究"变成一种考察声音变化和听觉经验重塑的自然史或考古史的故事,悄悄取代或不承认这个故事乃是且只能是由人在其社会政治语境中"创作"出来的意义丰富的版本。

"Cultural studies" presents a special approach to "isolation" in the structural problems of cultural politics. The dialogue between vocal political criticism and auditory culture is not a "compensatory", "interactive" or "disciplinary" link, but a collision betweenthe political appeal, academic idea and methodical vision of a particular cultural study. Without "auditory cultural studies", there are still "vocal political criticism", but without "vocal political criticism", "auditory cultural studies" not only becomes a knowledge-likestatement, but also may fall into "apleasure trap"preset by the British and American cultural studies and turns into a theory defending the"auditory hegemony"of commodity politics and even cultural politics. The "auditory cultural studies" advocated by Wang Dun seems only to reject the concept of "vocal cultural research", but in fact, through the topic of "modernity of auditory sense", they attempt to turn "auditory culture studies" into narratives reviewing the natural history or archaeological history of the changes of sound and the remodeling of auditory experience. Replacing or denying the narration is and can only be a meaningful version that people create in their socio-political contexts.