COCO 1.03 Fashion and Identity: The Power of Clothing
Although clothing is part of everyday life, we often do not consciously understand its messages. This course will examine clothing and fashion in high art, film, television, and the “real” world in order to explore the overt and subliminal messages regarding power, gender, and status over time and still today. We will study the external, clothed body in relation to a performance of the self and the unconscious categorizations of gendered, sexed, and classed positions. We will investigate the power of dress and ornament to reinforce or challenge gender norms, ideologies of power, and insider/outsider status. The class will focus on a broad timeframe (@ 1500-2000) and will look at examples such as queens and pop stars, the gentleman and the dandy, religious garb and culture clash, drag and cross-dressing, empire and globalization, among others.
Instructor
O'Rourke, Carroll