Sound, music and storytelling are important tools of resistance, resilience and reconciliation in creative practice from protracted conflict to post-conflict contexts. When they are used in a socially engaged participatory capacity, they can create counter-narratives to conflict. Based on original research in three continents, this book advances an interdisciplinary, comparative approach to exploring the role of sonic and creative practices in addressing the effects of conflict. Each case study illustrates how participatory arts genres are variously employed by musicians, arts facilitators, theatre practitioners, community activists and other stakeholders as a means of ‘strategic creativity’ to transform trauma and promote empowerment. This research further highlights the complex dynamics of delivering and managing creativity among those who have experienced violence, as they seek opportunities to generate alternative arenas for engagement, healing and transformation.

Perceptive and nuanced learnings extrapolated from sensitively devised and performed fieldwork from contrasting cultural contexts that have faced head-on conflict, violence, loss and trauma are presented here in a critical context, offering meaningful yet expertly informed ways forward in sound and music practice. * John L. Drever, Professor of Acoustic Ecology and Sound Art, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK *
Sounding Conflict offers a brilliant exploration of how conflict, peace and healing must be understood within the fullest container of human senses and meaning making – in this case an ever-deepening empirical unveiling of the place and impact of arts, performance and music. A must-read for anyone interested in holistic social change. * John Paul Lederach, Professor Emeritus, University of Notre Dame, USA *

Fiona Magowan is Fellow and Research Lead at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice and Professor of Anthropology at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. She is the author or editor of seven books, including Christianity, Conflict and Renewal in the Australia Pacific (2016).

Julie M. Norman is Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations at University College London, UK. She writes widely on conflict, political violence, and resistance and is the author or co-editor of four books including Understanding Nonviolence (2015).Ariana Phillips-Hutton is Lecturer in Global Critical and Cultural Study of Music at the University of Leeds, UK. She is the author of Music Transforming Conflict (2020) and Associate Editor for the Oxford Handbook of Western Music and Philosophy (2020).

Stefanie Lehner is Senior Lecturer in Irish Literature and Culture at Queen’s University Belfast, UK and Fellow at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. Her current research explores the role of the arts, specifically performance, in conflict transformation processes, with a focus on the Northern Irish context.

Pedro Rebelo is Professor of Sonic Arts at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. His ongoing research interests include participatory sonic arts and immersive sound.