Radio and the Politics of Sound in Interwar France, 1921-1939

311 Pages·2016·5.813 MB·English

by  Rebecca P. Scales

Radio and the Politics of Sound in Interwar France,
1921–1939
InDecember1921,Francebroadcastitsfirstpublicradioprogramfrom
a transmitter on the Eiffel Tower. In the decade that followed, radio
evolvedintoamassmediacapableofreachingmillions.Crowdsflocked
to loudspeakers on city streets to listen to propaganda, children clus-
teredaroundclassroomradios,andfamiliestunedinfromtheirliving
rooms. Radio and the Politics of Sound in Interwar France examines the
impactofthisemergingauditorycultureonFrenchsocietyandpolitics,
revealinghowbroadcastingbecameanewplatformforpoliticalengage-
ment, transforming the act of listening into an important, if highly
contested,practiceofcitizenship.Rejectingmodelsofbroadcastingas
a weaponof totalitarian regimes or a tool for forging democracy from
above,thebookoffersamorenuancedpictureofthepoliticsofradioby
uncoveringthecompetinginterpretationsoflisteninganddiverseusesof
broadcastsoundthatflourishedbetweentheworldwars.
rebecca p. scales is an assistant professor in the Department of
HistoryattheRochesterInstituteofTechnology.
CambridgeSocialandCulturalHistories
Serieseditors:
MargotC.Finn,UniversityCollegeLondon
ColinJones,QueenMary,UniversityofLondon
RobertG.Moeller,UniversityofCalifornia,Irvine
CambridgeSocialandCulturalHistoriespublishesworksoforiginalscholarship
thatlieattheinterfacebetweenculturalandsocialhistory.Titlesintheseriesboth
articulate a clear methodological and theoretical orientation and demonstrate
clearly the significance of that orientation for interpreting relevant historical
sources. The series seeks to address historical questions, issues or phenomena
which – although they may be located in a specific nation, state or polity – are
framedsoastoberelevantandmethodologicallyinnovativetospecialistsofother
fieldsofhistoricalanalysis.
Alistoftitlesintheseriescanbefoundat:
www.cambridge.org/socialculturalhistories
Radio and the Politics of Sound
–
in Interwar France, 1921 1939
Rebecca P. Scales
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learningandresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107108677
©RebeccaP.Scales2016
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2016
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyClays,StIvesplc
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Scales,Rebecca,1976–
RadioandthepoliticsofsoundininterwarFrance,1921–1939/
RebeccaScales.
Cambridge,UnitedKingdom:CambridgeUniversityPress,2016.
|Series:Cambridgesocialandculturalhistories|Includes
bibliographicalreferencesandindes.
LCCN2015039572|ISBN9781107108677(hardback)
LCSH:Radiobroadcasting–Politicalaspects–France–History–20th
century.|Radiobroadcasting–Socialaspects–France–History–20th
century.|Sound–Politicalaspects–France–History–20thcentury.|Sound–
Socialaspects–France–History–20thcentury.|Massmedia–Political
aspects–France–History–20thcentury.|Massmedia–Social
aspects–France–History–20thcentury.|Politicsandculture–
France–History–20thcentury.|France–Politicsandgovernment–
1914–1940.|France–Sociallifeandcustoms–20thcentury.
|BISAC:HISTORY/Europe/General.
LCCHE8697.85.F8S342016|DDC384.540944/09042–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttp://lccn.loc.gov/2015039572
ISBN978-1-107-10867-7Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
URLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
Contents
Listofillustrations pagevi
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
1 Radiobroadcastingandthesoundscapeofinterwarlife 21
2 Disabledveterans,radiocitizenship,andthepoliticsof
nationalrecovery 64
3 Cosmopolitanismandcacophony:static,signals,andthe
makingofa“radionation” 111
4 Learningbyear:schoolradio,partisanpolitics,andthe
pedagogyoflistening 158
5 Dangerousairwaves:propaganda,surveillance,andthe
politicsoflisteninginFrenchcolonialAlgeria 207
Conclusion.Paris-Mondial:globalizingthevoiceof
France 258
Bibliography 269
Index 291
v
Illustrations
1.1 “TheoldestradiostationinFrance,”Jesaistout(1923).
ImagecourtesyoftheBibliothèqueNationaledeFrance. page28
1.2 AdvertisementforCréationRadiomuse,Radio-Magazine
(1926).ImagecourtesyoftheBibliothèqueNationalede
France. 42
2.1 RadiofortheBlindpostagestamp(1938).©JulesPiel/La
Poste 77
2.2 Blindhospitalpatientlisteningtotheradio,Annuairedela
radiodiffusionnationale(1933).Imagecourtesyofthe
BibliothèqueNationaledeFrance. 80
2.3 Schemasforconvertingradiosintohearingaids,LaNature
(1932).ImagecourtesyoftheBibliothèqueNationalede
France. 101
3.1 “AsinglemaneuverwiththeSFERRadiola20,”Radio-
Magazine(1926).ImagecourtesyoftheBibliothèque
NationaledeFrance. 119
3.2 “Map”oftheradiodial,Monprogramme(1932).Image
courtesyoftheBibliothèqueNationaledeFrance. 120
3.3 MapofEuropemarkedwiththeprincipalradiostations,
Radio-Magazine(1930).ImagecourtesyoftheBibliothèque
NationaledeFrance. 122
3.4 Post-LucerneConference“map”oftheradiodial,Mon
programme(1934).ImagecourtesyoftheBibliothèque
NationaledeFrance. 146
4.1 StudentsinSaint-Ouenlisteningtoradioscolairebroadcasts,
Manuelgénéraldel’instructionprimaire(1937).Imagecourtesy
oftheBibliothèqueNationaledeFrance. 191
5.1 “Jeannot,”Magazine(1936).ImagecourtesyoftheArchives
Nationalesd’Outre-Mer. 223
5.2 “El-MoutribiaOrchestra,”Alger-RadioMagazine(1936).
ImagecourtesyoftheArchivesNationalesd’Outre-Mer. 227
vi
Acknowledgments
Although writing is very much a solitary endeavor, many institutions,
organizations,andindividualscontributedtothelaborcontainedwithin
the covers of this book. Grants and fellowships from the Social Science
Research Council, the Embassy of France in the United States, the
American Philosophical Society, and the Western Society for French
History supported multiple years of archival research in France. A Paul
and Francena Miller Fellowship from the College of Liberal Arts at the
Rochester Institute of Technology provided me with critical teaching
release time to complete a final draft of the manuscript. Archivists and
staff at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Centre des Archives
Nationales, the Centre des Archives d’Outre-Mer in Aix-en-Provence,
theServiceHistoriquedelaDéfense,andtheParisPréfecturedePolice
provided invaluable assistance in tracking down sources and making
reproductions. I would also like to thank the editors of the Cambridge
SocialandCulturalHistorySeries,andparticularlyColinJones,fortheir
supportofthisbook,aswellasElizabethFriend-Smith,RebeccaTaylor,
andAmandaGeorgeatCambridgeUniversityPressforshepherdingthe
manuscript through each stage of the review and production process.
Earlier versions of Chapters 2 and 5 appeared in French Historical
Studies, 31, 4 (2008), Comparative Studies in Society and History, 52,
2(2010),andMediaHistory(2013).Ithanktheeditorsofthesejournals
forallowingmetoreprintthesematerialshere.
During my academic career, I have had the privilege of working with
manytalentedhistorianswhoseinfluencecontinuestoshapemythinking.
At the University of Georgia, where I began graduate school, Joshua
Cole’s inspired teaching and intellectual generosity first compelled me
to think seriously about becoming an historian. I am reminded of his
courseseverytimeIsitdowntoprepareanassignmentordraftasyllabus,
andIhopetopassontomystudentsevenafewofthelessonsIlearned
from him about critical textual analysis. Many of the ideas in this book
grew out of Michael Adas’s comparative history seminars at Rutgers
University, where our conversations about the global circulation of
vii
viii Acknowledgments
technologies, ideas, and people challenged many of my preconceptions
aboutEuropeanhistory.Inverydifferentways,MattMatsudaandJoan
Scott each taught me a great deal about writing, the performance of
teaching, and the immense pleasure to be derived from intellectual
labor.BonnieSmithhaschampionedthisbookfromitsinception,always
encouragingmetothinkbetterandwritefaster.Herrelentlesscheerful-
ness, indefatigable work ethic, and consummate professionalism con-
tinue to inspire me. I am so fortunate to have been her student, and I
cannotthankherandDonKelleyenoughfortheircontinuedsupportof
my career, as well as for many wonderful dinners on both sides of the
Atlantic.
This book has also benefited from the transformative insights of a
number of colleagues, including Caroline Campbell, Jeffrey Jackson,
Catherine Kudlick, and Rosemary Wakeman, all of whom commented
onearlierportionsofthemanuscriptorthebookproposal.KeithWailoo
andthemembersofhismedicalhistoryresearchgroupatRutgers–Greg
Swedburg, Julie Livingston, Richard Mizelle, Marc Matera, Michal
Shapira, and Melissa Stein – also provided invaluable suggestions for
revisions to early chapter drafts. Conversations with colleagues at the
annual meetings of the Society for French Historical Studies, the
FrenchColonialHistoricalSociety,andtheWesternSocietyforFrench
History deepened my analysis and refined my arguments. Jennifer
Sessionsdeservesspecialthanksforreadingmultipleversionsoftheentire
manuscript, from its earliest iteration through the final revisions. I am
gratefulforherincisivequestionsandherwillingnesstoengageinlengthy
conversations about a research topic so different from her own. I never
wouldhavecompletedtheresearchforthisbookwithoutthesupportof
TeresaDelcorso,whoseguidanceinwritinggrantproposalsmadeevery
trip to France possible. Her friendship and professional guidance con-
tinue to sustain me. Finally, I thank my colleagues in the History
Department at the Rochester Institute of Technology for providing a
welcomingenvironmentinwhichtobeginmyteachingcareerandfinish
thisbook.
In New York, Washington, DC, and Paris, many friends supplied
deliciousmeals,goodhumor,andstimulatingconversationsthatbuoyed
my spirits after long days in the library and the snow. Special thanks to
JoshuaArthurs,JonathyneBriggs,TamarCarroll,ClaireEldridge,Sarah
Ellermanand Brad Smith, Darcie Fontaine, Amy Freund, Carmen and
Ed Gitre, Gillian Glaes, Jessica Anderson Hughes, Laura Kalba, Kate
Keller, Jennifer Knight, Lisa Hermsen, Rob Lewis and Cathy Carlisle,
JoelRevill,LouisaRice,DanielleMcGuireRosh,KarenRoutledge,Erin
Slattery-Duda, Jennifer and Mark Tharp, Sarah Thompson, Corinna
Acknowledgments ix
Schlombs,andNickandElizabethWolf.Asthisprojectcametoaclose
and a newone began, Zina Weygand welcomed me intoher family and
scholarlynetworks,makingParisfeellikehome.
Finally,Icouldnothavewrittenthisbookwithouttheloveandsupport
ofmyfamily.Mygrandmother,JeanetteScales,wasthefirstpersoninher
family to go to college. She worked hard to make sure her husband,
children, and grandchildren all had the same opportunity, and her
monthly checks kept me afloat for many years of graduate school. I am
sad that she did not get to see me cross the finish line, but I hope she
wouldhavebeenproudoftheworkIhaveaccomplished.MyauntPathas
playedmanyrolesinmylife,fromfamilyfeministtopoliticalprovocateur.
Mostimportantly,shemadesurethatakidgrowingupwithoutalibrary
orbookstorenearbyalwayshadsomethingtoread.Eventhoughweeach
read different types of books these days, her influence can be seen
throughout these pages. My parents, Larry and Sandra, have always
believedthatIcouldachieveanythingIsetouttodo,evenwhenIdoubted
itmyself.Theyfirstinspiredmyloveofhistoryandmyinterestindifferent
cultures, and I am immensely grateful for my adventurous childhood
spenttravelingthroughairportsanddowndirtroads.Forgivingmethe
world,andforlovingmeenoughtoalwaysletmego,Idedicatethisbook
tothem.