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Jacob Kingsbury Downs is a Departmental Lecturer in the Faculty of Music at the University of Oxford, where he teaches and offers tutorials on contemporary music and sound studies. He has a diverse educational background, having completed his undergraduate studies at Christ Church, Oxford, where he earned a first-class BA in Music, along with the prestigious Clifford Smith Prize in 2015. He then pursued further studies under the Ertegun Scholarship Programme, earning an MSt in Musicology from St John's College, Oxford, in 2016, and a PhD from the University of Sheffield in 2021. Jacob's doctoral dissertation focused on the phenomenology of headphone listening, emphasizing space, embodiment, and materiality. His research interests span across music, sound technologies, phenomenology, music psychology, and environmental humanities. He is currently a Co-Investigator on a UK Research Innovation project aimed at exploring how contemporary popular music can influence environmental values. Jacob has also worked as a musician, arranger, and music engraver, collaborating with notable figures and organizations, including Jools Holland and the National Youth Orchestra. His academic publications include works on auditory violence and headphone listening. He lectures and runs seminars on various courses related to aesthetics and the study of music at Oxford.
University of Oxford - Faculty of Music • Oxford, England
Lectures and offers tutorials on contemporary music and sound studies.
University of Sheffield • Sheffield, England
Conducted research on music and sound.
University of Cyprus • Cyprus
Worked on a project related to music, sound, and violence.
Department of Politics and International Relations - Higher Level English requirement.