Listening & Process: Techniques and mediated histories of recording technology –

September 29, 2025 Lauren Knight presented her work across projects, practices, and techniques that shape her engagement within acoustic ecology and land-based listening in the context of ecological crisis. Her current research is on mediated histories of underwater recording technologies. In an era where our planet’s ecological future hinges on the ability to perceive and respond to environmental shifts, digital sonic technologies offer unique possibilities for immersion and translation; however, many of these sonic technologies descend from militarized or surveillant histories, culturally and socially informed by a complex lineage that may further reinforce power through technological forms of obfuscation or exploitation. Offering a brief historical reflection on hydrophones and underwater listening techniques, Knight reflected on the relationship between technologies as transductive extensions of the body, as ecological or surveillant prosthesis.

Personal Website: www.laurenknight.ca

bio

Lauren Knight is a sonic researcher, sound media producer, and PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. Her current research interests include: acoustic ecology, cultural sound studies, media archaeology, research creation, and sensory ethnography.  She is also a current board member on both the Canadian Association for Sound Ecology (CASE) and the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE). As an artist, she works across and between various mediums, most often utilizing sound as a tool to engage in environmental, political, and social discourse.​​​