'An Ocean of Noise': H.E. Reilley and the Making of a Legitimate Social Problem, 1911–45

Type of resource
Authors/collaborators
Title
'An Ocean of Noise': H.E. Reilley and the Making of a Legitimate Social Problem, 1911–45
Abstract
Professor Herschel Edward Reilley (1879-1945) taught in McGill University's Physics Department, pioneered the study of noise pollution, and was Chairman of the Noise Abatement Committee of Montreal's City Improvement League. In the 1930s and early 1940s, Reilley led Montreal efforts to limit noise, evaluating the acoustics in buildings, giving speeches on the dangers of noise, and playing a part in writing the city’s first comprehensive anti-noise bylaw. Situating his noise abatement movement within the international rise of the field of applied acoustics, the advent of anti-noise campaigns in other countries, and previous state efforts to limit noise in Montreal, the authors explore the numerous ways Reilley sought to make the dangers of noise a legitimate social issue in a culturally divided city. The authors argue that Reilley used his affiliation with McGill to overcome problems of professional legitimacy and that he sought powerful allies for his cause, deliberately bridging the French-English divide inherent to this industrial city. They point out that Reilley achieved less success in extending legal limitations on noise into the workplace and in having noise bylaws enforced. Ultimately, the authors conclude, Reilley’s noise abatement campaigns represent particularly strong examples of reflexive modernity — a specifically modern response to problems brought about by modernity itself.
Publication
Journal of Canadian Studies / Revue d'études canadiennes
Volume
Vol. 51
Issue
no. 2
Pages
261-288
Date
Spring 2017
Language
en
Citation
Rudy, Jarrett, Nicolas Kenny, and Magda Fahrni. “‘An Ocean of Noise’: H.E. Reilley and the Making of a Legitimate Social Problem, 1911–45.” Journal of Canadian Studies / Revue d’études canadiennes Vol. 51, no. 2 (Spring 2017): 261–288.
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