This special issue draws on a selection of papers given at two international symposia organized in the context of ERC MUTE – Soundscapes of Trauma: Music, Sound, and the Ethics of Witnessing (Horizon 2020). The first one, ‘Listening as Witnessing’, took place in Athens (16 to 19 October 2023) and was co-organized by the Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation (IHR / NHRF), The Listening Academy, and the Athens School of Fine Arts. The second symposium, ‘Ear Witness: Listening to Violence, Migration, Climate’ was co-organized by the IHR / NHRF and the University of Art and Design (HEAD - Genève, Haute école d’art et de design, Hes-so). It took place in Geneva (25 to 26 February 2025), a place where international advocacy and activism meet policy-making, aiming at sharing research and reflections, as well as creating the potential for future synergies and intra-sectoral collaborations.

The interdisciplinarity of these encounters reflects the sonic turn that has been taking place in the humanities and social sciences: a paradigm shift that has brought to the fore the social, cultural, and political ramifications of sound and the importance of listening practices in understanding the world. Posing new questions and shedding light onto perspectives previously ignored or silenced, has allowed scholars, researchers, and artists to challenge and transgress the boundaries of national archives and archives of violence. Understanding the multifaceted role of sound in political and historical traumas, as well as its inaudibility and absence in discussions about violence and resistance is to perceive a missing and crucial part of the puzzle that allows us to critically approach and listen to the past and present with different ears.