Soundscape and Heritage: The Sonic Environment in Roskilde Juxtaposed with James Joyce's Ulysses

This article is a contribution to a research field positioned in the intersection of theories of sound, place, heritage, memory, and literature. Without clear demarcations this field encompasses subjects as diverse as cultural geography, literature studies, the humanities in general, and music studies, among others. The point of departure is a reading of James Joyce’s Ulysses. In the same way that Joyce transposed Odysseus’ exploration of the Mediterranean space to Dublin, this article transposes Bloom’s experience of Dublin to the city of Roskilde. Joyce virtuously connected sound and words. Literature proves to be extremely powerful in offering insights into issues to which both theory and daily life often remain blind, having thus not only an affective function but also a decidedly epistemological one; that is, of expanding our knowledge regarding both theoretical and experiential issues. What my brief discussion of the chapter “Sirens” hints toward is literature’s incredible potential both to play with the musicality of language and the emotions this aspect engenders and to give rise to powerful theoretical insights into the nature, structure, and functions of soundscapes, thus ultimately refining our understanding of our complex and ambiguous relationship to the myriad soundscapes by which we are surrounded.