The Local and the Vocal. Tracing Vocality in Early 18th Century Print Media

Abstract

The article outlines the entanglements of vocal, scriptural and print media practices in early 18th century Switzerland. It builds upon a close reading of media coverage of the 1712 Toggenburg war preserved in the Zurich central library (Zentralbibliothek Zürich). By tracing the vocality of early modern media culture in song pamphlets, ballad broadsheets and printed dialogues reflecting on contemporary events it argues that vocal media practices were not only literally inscribed in early modern prints but were also crucial for the dissemination of news and opinions. Essentially, the intermediality of the early modern public sphere appears as fundamentally characterized by the interplay of voices, texts and performance.