Course Outline:

The lecture traces the social and cultural history of fashion from the early 20th century to the present, and provides an overview over the historical significance of fashion in relation to cultural and social processes.

This lecture aims to develop a broad understanding of the historical development of fashion and explores the values, ideas and aesthetic concepts underpinning historical and contemporary fashion cultures. Key fashion designers, styles, movements and events which have shaped fashion in the 20th and 21st centuries are examined in relation to the ways in which fashion communicates social identities and discusses concepts related to identity politics, gender, race and ethnicity. The lecture explores the historical and contemporary links between fashion and art, design, technology, material culture, spatial concepts, media studies, ethics and sustainability from the perspective of fashion history, cultural studies and sociology.

Teaching Methods:

Lectures, discussions and close readings, accompanied by visual and multimedia aids, such as films, video clips, documentaries, digital archives, websites, blogs, etc.

RECOMMENDED READING:

• English, B., 2013: A Cultural History of Fashion in the 20th and 21st Centuries. New York: Bloomsbury.
• English, B., 2011: Japanese Fashion Designers. The Work and Influence of Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo. Oxford/New York: Berg.
• Evans, C., 2003: Fashion at the Edge: Spectacle, Modernity and Deathliness. New Haven/London: Yale University Press.
• Bruzzi, S./Church Gibson, P. (eds.), 2013: Fashion Cultures Revisited. Theories, explorations and analysis. New York/London: Routledge.
• Steele, V., 1998: Paris Fashion: A Cultural History. New York/Oxford: Berg. 
• Troy, N., 2003: Couture Culture. A Study in Modern Art and Fashion. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
• Kaiser, S. B., 2013: Fashion and Cultural Studies. Oxford/New York: Berg.
• Mendes, V.; De la Haye, A., 2010: Fashion since 1900. London: Thames & Hudson.

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION: 

Active student participation during the lecture is absolutely essential for this course. It is your responsibility to sign in every class, as attendance will be taken at the beginning of each meeting. Signing in for a previous day is not possible so be sure to sign in each day. Signing for another student is a form of academic dishonesty and will not be tolerated.

To receive full attendance credit you are expected to:

• Attend every meeting and to attend the entire session
• You are allowed to miss 1 lecture but must excuse your absence in advance via e-mail
• Take notes during the lecture
• Participate in group discussions
• Hand in a research portfolio at the end of the term (submission date: TBA)

This lecture will be held entirely in English.

12th October 2016 - 16:00 - 18:30, Seminarraum 11 (Vordere Zollamtstraße 3, 1. Obergeschoss)

16th November 2016 - 16:00 - 18:30

30th November 2016 - 16:00 - 18:30

14th December 2016 - 16:00 - 18:30

18th January 2017 - 16:00 - 18:30