Fabric and Society

For thousands of years humans have made cloth to serve functional, decorative, expressive and communicative needs. This course will explore the myriad ways in which fabric has been used socially, politically and aesthetically. Topics will include: textiles as narratives, identity, social status, spirituality, political affiliation or protest and technological development. Through studies drawn from a selection of ethnic, social or historical groups from around the world students will be introduced to the rich study of textiles from the Paleolithic period to the present day.