f Listening in the aether: Rehearing and imagining the world virtually

This discussion examines the use of sound in the massive multiplayer online social platform Second Life (2003–18), by drawing upon ideas and works of traditional and new media ‘sound’ scholars and practitioners. In particular, this study draws from the theoretical works of prominent sound scholar R. Murray Schafer, and new media theorists Marshall McLuhan, Jean Baudrillard, Janine Marchessault, Lev Manovich and Edward Castonova. This study explores listening within simulated environments through a case study of sound teaching and research in what was constructed as a sound laboratory, which is situated on a simulated estate created in Second Life. Participation during the course work evoked students’ memories of childhood events and other prior experiences. The study is focused on the first phases of the project conducted during 2013 and 2014. What began as a lesson in sound literacy called forth questions about how sound contributes to understanding reality, especially when acoustic space is located within virtual reality. The sound laboratory is still operational in Second Life.