21
February
2022
|
03:10
Europe/London

Social Anthropologist, Dr Lorenzo Ferrarini wins two highly regarded book awards

social anthropology

Congratulations to Dr Lorenzo Ferrarini, School of Social Sciences, whose book Sonic Ethnography wins the John Collier Prize for Photography and the 2021 International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) Best Book Prize.

Dr Ferrarini has been widely recognised for his expertise in conducting ethnographic research in the field of social anthropology and his work in documentary film, photography and sound recordings has previously resulted in recognition at the RAI Film Festival of ethnographic film in 2015.

Sonic Ethnography, by Lorenzo Ferrarini and Nicola Scaldaferri, features stunning colour photographs alongside more than an hour of sound recordings, to explore the role of sound-making and listening practices in the formation of local identities in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata.

The volume provides an innovative take on soundful cultural performances such as tree rituals, carnivals, pilgrimages and more informal musical performances, with particular attention to the interactions between classic ethnographic scholarship from the past century and the local politics of heritage.

The John Collier Jr. Award for Still Photography is awarded by the Society for Visual Anthropology to authors or photographers whose work exemplifies the use of still photography (both historically and contemporary) for research and communication of anthropological knowledge.

The Photographic prize committee said, ‘’this multi-layered, long-term ethnographic research was conducted through intimate musical knowledge and participation with the study communities and focuses on the relationship of sound structure to social structure. A unique methodological approach to studying ritual, festival, and symbolic behaviour is the introduction of listening as a methodology, which might appear simplistic but is not.”

Sonic Ethnography was also awarded the 2021 ICTM Best Book Prize by the International Council for Traditional Music, one of the most important scholarly organisations for ethnomusicology.

The judges’ comments included: "It is experiential, exciting, and a genuine pleasure to read"

"This is a sublime and exhilarating work. Its multi-faceted, multi-media approach is truly breath-taking; the photography itself conveys sound just as much as the text and sound files do"

"The sensory submersion into cultural practice has the effect of bringing the audience in as participants, a truly successful way of imparting knowledge and experience"

"Their thoughtful reflections on methodology and theoretical musings provide a wealth of insights on cultural politics, heritage policies, arts practice research, creative interventions, and photography in anthropology"

Sonic Ethnography was published in the new Anthropology, Creative Practice and Ethnography series at Manchester University Press, The University of Manchester’s own publisher, which is well known globally for its excellent research in the Humanities and Social Sciences.