Course Catalogue

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This course explores the rich relationship between 20th-century textiles and transgressive politics through a series of international case studies that evaluate historically situated debates on class, labour relations, gender and sexuality, race, the displacement of people and the exploitation of the environment and non-human animals. By paying close attention to processes of making, form, materiality, aesthetics and politics, this course combines an object-led methodology within a rigorous theoretical framework that provides students with the tools to analyse the transformative and subversive power of textiles.

10 x 1 hr. lecture per week

10 x 1 hr. seminar per week  as scheduled on MyCampus

This is one of the MLitt Dress and Textile Histories options and may not run every year.

Standard entry to Masters at College level

None

None

The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Research Essay (2500 words) - 60%

■ 10-minute recorded vlog or podcast (2000 word equivalent) - 40%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

■ There is no alternative to the research essay, but a flexible deadline can be offered as reasonable adjustments (students should follow the usual process for extensions)

■ PowerPoint with written script as an alternative to the recorded vlog or podcast

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

This course aims to:

■ familiarise students with key examples of the political mobilisation of textiles in 20-th century Europe, Africa, Asia and North America

■ develop a critical understanding of important frameworks and struggles that shaped international politics since the end of WWI

■ enable students to assess the local and international impact of key textile interventions into political and popular discourse

■ foster object-based research skills

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ understand dominant cultural, ideological and material implications of 20th-century politics through textiles

■ critically analyse the ramifications of transgressive politics on class, gender, race and the environment

■ identify and assess key concepts and perspectives within the discipline of Dress and Textile Histories

■ formulate viable research questions and independent research projects that engage with different methodological approaches to the study of textiles

■ effectively document their research and present their findings through textual, visual and oral communication