This course examines fashion as both a product and expression of globalization. It explores fashion’s contested histories; its modes of production, consumption, and address; its relationship to colonial enterprises; its system of meaning-making. In this course, we will tackle such issues as the social uses of fashion; the fashion cycle (use, reuse, discard); the relationship between dress and the body; feminist critiques of fashion; the politicization of clothing (from ethnic dressing to green clothing); and the links between style consumption and garment production–and the relationship of all of these to the processes of globalization.

Social and Cultural Analysis (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks