Soundscapes of belonging
Auditory memory, migration and transcultural identity among Sri Lankan migrants in Melbourne
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8134468 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tharupathi Munasinghe (0000-0003-2592-6996, The University of Melbourne, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-12 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Memory Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1750-6980 • E-ISSN: 1750-6999 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/17506980251409274 |
| OpenAlex | W7123348896 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 25 |
The auditory dimension of memory offers a compelling lens for understanding how Sri Lankan migrants in Melbourne reconstruct cultural memory and belonging through everyday sound practices. The study draws on collaborative arts-based methods – including sonic ethnography, autoethnography and a/r/tography (the interconnected practice of artist, researcher and teacher). It involves the co-production of a sound artwork by participants entitled ‘Sounds from the Past’, involving listening, voice and collaborative composition. It introduces the concept of ‘sonic counter-memory’ to describe how everyday soundscapes function as affective sites of resistance, identity-making and intergenerational transmission. Through three dimensions of anchoring cultural memory, collective sonic practice and sonic sovereignty, the article shows how Sri Lankan migrants in Melbourne create sound practices that challenge dominant cultural soundscapes. The research contributes to memory studies by demonstrating how auditory practices enable new forms of transcultural belonging while maintaining cultural distinctiveness
Autoethnography · Collective memory · Dialogic · Ethnography · Identity (music · Sound (geography · Soundscape · Visual research · Diverse Musicological Studies · Music History and Culture · Sound Studies and Aurality
The politics of belonging intersectional contestations
Transnationalism
Digital Television and the Machine That Goes “Ping!”
Feminist Memorializing and Cultural Countermemory
Remaking memory and the agency of the aesthetic
Migrants, transcultural memory and World War I commemoration in post-conflict Northern Ireland
Remembering voices
Listening to War
The Chicago Guide to Collaborative Ethnography
Sonic geographies
Performance Studies
Migration, identity, and television audiences
Cultural citizenship
Digital media, ageing and faith
Collective Memory and Cultural Identity
Rethinking the Public Sphere
Sound and Sentiment
Sounds of Democracy
A/r/tography as Living Inquiry Through Art and Text
Soundscapes
Collective Memory
| Highly cited | No |
|---|