In this public lecture, PhD candidate Kyle Chattleton will draw from his dissertation research on the Unite the Right rally, and give evidence of alt-right affective strategies accomplished through sound. Throughout the rally, participants collectively vocalized not only Nazi slogans and anti-Semitic chants, and also other white supremacist sounds. Specifically, the lecture will focus on the use of the Confederate "Rebel Yell” at Unite the Right, and on its ability to intentionally terrorize the city of Charlottesville in a manner similar to the psychological warfare of the Civil War. The use of this sonic artifact, Chattleton argues, highlights the varied and overlapping ways in which white supremacy reverberates throughout the story of America. Indeed, the history of the University of Virginia demonstrates that racist sounds are part of the soundscape of Charlottesville. The recognition of these truths dispels the incorrect assumption, pervasive in the wake of Unite the Right, that the rally was a unique and unexpected event.

This is event is part of the Making Noise series underwritten by the UVA Arts Council. The lecture will be followed by a reception.