"Listening at the Seams: Curating a Relations-Based Audio Narrative of the Schuylkill River"
Abstract
The Schuylkill River is a biologically diverse feature of the place now known as Philadelphia; its inhabitants have long used its waters for transportation, recreation, and food gathering. The river carries with it a living biochemical memory reflecting vast interconnected socio-technical practices informed by a legacy of industrialism that have shaped the contours of the river’s ecology and the dynamic engagements between human and non-human cohabitants. Researchers and governmental agencies may consider the health of the river by analyzing the morphology of its aquatic species, especially its fish (Sun et al., 2009; Harris, 1995; Norris, 1999). Though many narratives surrounding the river are not limited to health or pollution, they often tell their stories through objects in much the same way. Researchers have investigated how oil refinery complexes serve as sites of understanding and the ways in which the Schuylkill River shaped cultural, social, and economic practices through the prevalence of catfish consumption. While the list is long and varied, each narrative relies on some object, or constellation of objects, to express these stories. We consider the selection of these objects an important methodological concern.