Presentation given at Digital Humanities Research Colloquium, UCC, 19 February 2020. The Sonic Histories of Cork City (SHOCC) Project was formed as an interdisciplinary UCC team investigating what locations and spaces in Cork City might have sounded like in various moments in the city’s past and what the locations and spaces currently sound like in the present. In this presentation Elaine & John will discuss what led them and Dr Jillian Rogers to form the project, how the project works and what the next challenges are.

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The Sonic Histories of Cork City (SHOCC) Project:
From Idea to 360º Video
Digital Humanities Research Colloquium | UCC
19 February 2020
Elaine Harrington | Special Collections Librarian
John Hough | Senior Technical Officer

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MU6031: Sound Studies & Musicology

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Community of Learners

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MU6031: In Action
Special Collections & Field Recording

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https://shoccproject.wordpress.com/
Creating The Sonic Histories of Cork
City (SHOCC) Project

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Cork - 1902
MacCurtain Street to Bridge Street to Patrick’s Bridge https://youtu.be/69f7e5YX8l4

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Soundscape
R. Murray Schafer’s terms
KEYNOTE - Background, heard unconsciously, (Kent Station)
SOUND SIGNALS - Foreground, has semantic meaning (tram bell)
SOUND MARKS - location specific (Shandon Bells)

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Film Soundtrack
Backgrounds
Foley
Hard Effects

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Re-Sounding 1902 Cork
https://youtu.be/69f7e5YX8l4MacCurtain Street to Bridge Street to Patrick’s Bridge

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Field Recording and Editing Workshops
Provide students with skills to create soundscapes
● Use of microphones and recording devices
● Get students listening to the environment
● Visit locations around the city
● Creative sound editing

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Creating SoundCatcher

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SoundCatcher: Crowdsourcing Sound
● About the Project, Your Data, Consent
● Description of Sound (4)
○ Tick the category
○ Free text description e.g pitch
○ Date
○ Hour
● Image of location (1)
○ Upload an image (optional)
● Location of Sound (1)
○ Choose location
● Sound File Upload (4)
○ Upload
○ Personal details & contactable via email
○ Review submission

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Mapping SoundCatcher

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Soundscape:1800s - English Market
https://shoccproject.wordpress.com/soundscap
es/english-market-1800/
Postcard from John James Collection, UCC Library.

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Soundscape: 19th Century - North Gate Bridge
Postcard from John James Collection, UCC Library.https://shoccproject.wordpress.com/soundscapes/the-north
-gate-mid-to-late-19th-century/

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Soundscape: Late 19th Century -
Queen’s College Cork Library
Postcard from John James Collection, UCC Library.https://shoccproject.wordpress.com/soundscapes/library-in-queen
s-college-cork-1882/

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SHOCC Project Connects
https://www.ucc.ie/en/registrar/theconnecte
duniversity/academicstrategy/curriculum

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Slide Credit: Aquatint ‘Cork from the Mardyke Walk’ in Carr’s The Stranger in Ireland (1805). https://shoccproject.wordpress.com/ mapping-soundcatcher/
The Hills Are Alive With the Sounds of Cork
https://shoccproject.wordpress.com/2018/10/09/the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sounds-of-cork/

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Documenting Social Media Walks
https://www.facebook.com/pg/SHOCCProjectUCC/photos/

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Museum of the City
Postcard from John James Collection, UCC Library.

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Immersive Experiences
https://ths.li/7WHL5

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Preserving Sounds
● Internet memory loss creates a cultural vacuum.
● Information contained within may be used for activities not
yet considered.
● Wayback Machine
● @mhawksey Twitter Archiving
Google Spreadsheet
● Investigated Archive-IT
with UCC Library
● Data Management Plan

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The Working Archive

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Awards
Best Research Project - Education Awards 2019 (one of 6 groups shortlisted)
● Sonic Histories of Cork City Project – University College Cork
● Douglas Matters – University College Cork
● Home Works – DCU Institute of Education
● LINC Consortium
● Maybe There Is Another Way – University of Limerick
● SepTec – Dublin City University (winner)
Best Research Team in UCC
One of two teams nominated by College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences
to the University. Each College (4) and Tyndall are invited to submit up to three
nominations per category.

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The SHOCC Project: An Accidental DH Project

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Acknowledgements
The Sonic Histories of Cork City (SHOCC) Project
● Dr Jillian Rogers, Assistant Professor of Musicology, Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University;
(former Lecturer in Musicology, School of Music & Theatre, UCC).
All the students who completed MU 6031 and contributed to the SHOCC Project.
UCC
● Colette McKenna, Director of Library Services, UCC Library, UCC.
● Special Collections & Archives, UCC Library.
● Shawn Day, Lecturer in Digital Humanities, UCC.
● Dr James O’Sullivan, Lecturer in Digital Humanities, UCC.
Further Afield
● Jane Burns, Assistant Registrar, Athlone Institute of Technology, (former Institute Librarian at AIT).
● Dr Áine R. Mangaoang, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Musicology, University of Oslo.

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Contact
Elaine Harrington
Special Collections Librarian
UCC Library
University College Cork
Cork
e.harrington@ucc.ie
John Hough
Senior Technical Officer
School of Music & Theatre
University College Cork
Cork
j.hough@ucc.ie
Sonic Histories of Cork City (SHOCC) Project
https://shoccproject.wordpress.com/