Prof. Noriko Manabe (Temple University) explores perceived attacks on the foundations of democracy in recent years that have sparked large demonstrations, often numbering in the hundreds of thousands, in both Japan and the U.S. Her talk will explore the ways in which democracy is sounded differently in street protests of two densely populated cities—Tokyo and New York—as shaped by urban geography, outdoor acoustics, participatory practices, and perhaps most importantly, policing. Analyzing protests as an interplay between urban space, police, and actors, Manabe considers the ways in which the sounds of street protests reflect the kind of democracy that society allows.
