Dressing the World, Theory and Practice Through 2000 Years

About

Textiles and fashion are essential aspects of the human condition. We dress, appear and communicate through fabrics and other kinds of bodily adornments. Over the course of time, we have changed our practices for the production, mediation and the use of textiles and fashion, as well as theories through which we conceive and perceive them. Dressing the World summer school provides a survey of the history of textile and fashion from prehistoric times to the present day in the geographical areas of Scandinavia, Europe and globally. The course focuses on different historic and cultural theories, with an emphasis on critical and analytical approaches to the field and, in the wider context, and explores the entanglement of textile and fashion in characterising cultures and societies.

The summer school course is taught by excellent researchers, who survey textiles and fashion from antiquity to the present day. These demonstrate the pioneering, interdisciplinary approach, which puts the Centre for Textile Research at the forefront of textile and fashion scholarship. In each module, there will be offered a specialist syllabus of literature and other course material related to dress and textiles, supported by readings from classic works of theory and methods. Students will be introduced to the analysis of textiles and textile technology and how new scientific methods and theoretical approaches can be applied to textile research and fashion studies. The summer school is composed of six interlinked modules, which interweave the themes of textile techniques and craft, cloth cultures, textile history and technology, new analytical tools from the sciences used in the humanities, and the interpretation of the multiple meanings of dress and fashion in society, as markers of status, identity and power, or as gendered gifts. Hands-on textile craft experiences are integrated in the course every day.

Course leader

If you have questions about the course content, please write to dcc@hum.ku.dk.

Target group

Applicants who have passed a minimum of one year of bachelor-level studies are eligible to apply for admission.
Bachelor’s and Master’s students from any discipline are encouraged to apply. The course is open to Danish as well as to international students. Good English skills are required.

Course aim

TBA

Fee info