Women in Early Recorded Sound: Performance, Archives, Technologies

5.00-7.00pm, 19 June 2026
Room 237C, Advanced Research Centre, University of Glasgow, G11 6EW

This event brings together historians and theorists of early and contemporary media to examine the roles of women in the early history of recorded sound. Exploring how gender shaped sound cultures across domestic, performing and commercial contexts, it considers the emergence of gendered soundscapes in the home, as well as the often invisible forms of labour performed by women within the early recording industry. The roundtable will also address questions of mediation and voice, including the inclusion and exclusion of women in recordings and in broader representations of early recorded sound. Finally, it will engage with archival presence and absence, reflecting on how women are represented in historical records, which narratives have been constructed from this evidence, and how alternative accounts might be recovered by present-day research.

Participants: Dr. Barbara Gentili (Surrey University), Dr. Elodie A. Roy (Durham University), Dr. Rachael Finney (London College of Communication). Chaired by Prof. Eva Moreda Rodriguez (University of Glasgow)

Kindly supported by: Thinking Culture; Royal Music Association; Early Recordings Association; ArtsLab Lab “From Page to Stage”