Eco-Acoustic Healing and Sonic Relationality as A Geo-Cultural Meta-Theory of Medical-Musicology
Abstract
Albert Oluwole Uzodimma Authority
This article advances Medical-Musicology Theory (MMT) by proposing a geo-cultural meta-framework rooted in Eco- Epistemology. Central to this framework is the concept of Geo-Cultural Sonic Relationality, which redefines therapeutic sound as ecologically situated, shaped by land, climate, and the sonic agency of human and non-human entities. Drawing on desk-based critical content and archival analysis, the study critiques the clinical sterility of Western Music Therapy (WMT) environments, where sound is often stripped of its ecological and cultural embeddedness. In response, the article theorizes Eco-Acoustic Healing as a lens through which indigenous and local healing practices are understood as acoustically tethered to place. It further introduces Eco-Acoustic Justice as an expansion of Acoustic Justice, advocating for therapeutic soundscapes that uphold ecological integrity and cultural sovereignty. By integrating spatial, ecological, and sonic relationality into therapeutic discourse, this work addresses a critical gap in WMT and challenges the universalist assumptions of biomedicine. Ultimately, it repositions MMT as a culturally responsive and ecologically attuned theory, one that listens not only to human subjects, but also to landscapes, ecosystems, and sonic histories.