Sonic Humanities: Sound Archives, Listening Practices, and Cultural Memory

Kagaba Amina G.

Faculty of Business, Kampala International University, Uganda

                                                                            ABSTRACT
Sonic Humanities examines the intersection of sound archives, listening practices, and cultural memory, positioning sound as a critical medium through which societies preserve, interpret, and negotiate their histories and identities. This study explores how sound archives function as repositories of collective memory, cultural heritage, and historical knowledge while highlighting the processes of selection, preservation, cataloguing, accessibility, and destruction that shape what becomes audible or forgotten. It investigates listening practices as socially and culturally embedded activities that influence how individuals and communities experience, interpret, and transmit sonic histories. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from sound studies, anthropology, archival studies, digital humanities, and cultural memory theory, the study demonstrates that sound is not merely an artistic or sensory phenomenon but a primary source for understanding social relations, migration, identity formation, political struggles, and community experiences. The paper further examines technological transformations, including digitization and generative auditory data, which have expanded access to sonic materials while creating new ethical, legal, and preservation challenges. It emphasizes the importance of inclusive archival practices, Indigenous sound knowledge, community participation, and equitable access in shaping future sonic humanities research. Ultimately, Sonic Humanities provides a framework for understanding how sound archives and listening practices contribute to the preservation of cultural memory and the continuous reconstruction of collective identities in changing social and technological environments.

Keywords: Sonic Humanities; Sound Archives; Listening Practices; Cultural Memory; Digital Preservation.

CITE AS: Kagaba Amina G. (2026). Sonic Humanities: Sound Archives, Listening Practices, and Cultural Memory. NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LAW, COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGES, 6(2):102- 111 https://doi.org/10.59298/NIJLCL/2026/6.2.102111