A science of life

Why does The THES wish to deny sociology a specialist vocabulary when all academic disciplines and most vocations make use of technical terms and phrases ("Is sociology lost or is it just misunderstood?" THES, April 2). We would hardly expect the public to understand our work from a 143-word technical abstract written for sociologists, and we would have been delighted to provide non-specialist material.

Our research on bodily capacity and music draws on recorded audio and video data, music analysis, interviews and more than a year of participant observation by the project research assistant. We have been able to document how bodily capacities may be enhanced or diminished by music. The applications extend well beyond the study of aerobics and connect with evolving medical-based music therapeutic strategies.

The work on aerobics is part of a larger project on music in daily life, supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, that aims to investigate a question that dates back to Aristotle - how music may affect the body, emotions and conduct.

Tia DeNora. Sophie Belcher. University of Exeter.