This book examines the transformative role of soundscapes and digital communication technologies in shaping listening practices, cultural identity, social cohesion, and civic engagement. Centred on the concept of listening as civic infrastructure, the book argues that listening—long overlooked in speech-centric models of democracy—is a vital and active form of civic participation in multicultural, digitally mediated societies.

 Through ethnographic research with Sri Lankan migrants in Melbourne, the book explores how and digital ‘noise’ intersect to influence memory, belonging, and the dynamics of global civil discourse. It bridges sound studies, digital media research, and migration studies, offering innovative methodologies such as sonic ethnography and artography. It provides readers with rich case studies, theoretical insights, and practical frameworks for understanding how shape individual and collective identities. Through its key concepts—sonic citizenship, mediated listening publics, digital noise, and audibility—the book illuminates how sound functions as civic infrastructure for displaced communities. By linking physical and digital environments, the book highlights the critical role of sound and communication technologies in fostering resilience, cultural preservation, and civic participation.

Designed for scholars, postgraduate students, and practitioners in sound studies, media studies, and migration studies, and democratic theory, this book also appeals to professionals interested in digital communication, cultural preservation, and community-building initiatives. Its interdisciplinary approach ensures relevance for both academic and professional audiences across disciplines. The book includes an accompanying audio artwork created as part of the research project, accessible online. This sonic artefact offers a practical extension of the book’s themes, allowing readers to engage with the auditory dimension of the research firsthand. The piece can be experienced here: https://youtu.be/I-jn7jDyj3Q?si=1VUURRcMbHSrIM8F.

English

Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, London and New York.

“In a world increasingly articulated through the multiple experiences of diaspora and belonging, this wonderfully written and researched book redefines the conceptual and epistemological framework necessary to understand the complex nature of belonging and civic participation of so many in the present digital age. Whilst the book is based on a wonderfully evocative ethnographic analysis of the Sri-Lankan community in Melbourne the books makes a telling critical intervention into what it means to ‘listen’ in today’s world that reaches beyond a largely Western epistemology through which civic participation, media technologies and indeed the study of sound has framed these issues.” - Michael Bull, Professor of Sound Studies. University of Sussex.

“Digital Media, Soundscapes, and Civic Engagement in a Globalised World: Listening Beyond the Borders makes a significant contribution to the understanding of sound within the broad context of ethnography by demonstrating that engaging with sound is fundamental to civic participation in society. The knowledge gained through focus on a specific group is easily expanded to all societies. Discussing sound in ritual, music, speech, and environment provides insights that are easily overlooked when participating in and understanding of the vast array of cultures that inhabit the world. It substantially contributes to the contributions of authors ranging from Schafer to LaBelle in understanding our relationship to the ubiquitous sonic world.” - Dr Roger Alsop, Honorary in Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, The University of Melbourne, Australia.

“This book is a deeply original and timely intervention that reorients civic participation around the politics of listening. Through rich ethnographic research with Sri Lankan migrants in Melbourne, this book demonstrates how sound functions not as background to civic life, but as its very infrastructure. By advancing concepts such as “listening as civic infrastructure” and “sonic citizenship,” it compellingly challenges speech-centred models of participation and offers a nuanced account of how digital platforms shape audibility, belonging, and recognition. The result is a theoretically sophisticated and empirically grounded work that will resonate across media studies, anthropology, migration studies, and political theory.” - Dr Shashini Gamage, Teaching Specialist in Media and Communications, The University of Melbourne, Australia. 

“Digital Media, Soundscapes, and Civic Participation in a Globalized World reconceptualizes civic engagement through the lens of sonic ontology. By advancing concepts such as “listening as civic infrastructure” and “sonic citizenship,” the book challenges discourse-centered models of participation and offers a nuanced account of how digital platforms shape audibility, belonging, and recognition. Engaging affective and rhythmic dimensions of mediated life, it demonstrates how diasporic rituals, broadcasts, and voice messages synchronize relationships across distance. Grounded in Sri Lankan ethnography, this work advances a communicative ontology centered on sonorous relations, enriching global debates on acoustic citizenship and the politics of listening.” - Emeritus Professor Ariyarathna Athugala, Professor of Media and Communication, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.