ABSTRACT
This course offers an introduction to the core theoretical foundations of critical race studies through the lens of historical global dress and adornment. During the semester, countries or regions are grouped into five “big ideas” or modules: clothing as identity and status, clothing as storytelling art canvas, body modification as dress, supremacy of textile production as clothing, and mask and dance costume. These topics challenge the privilege of who is telling the story, allowing students to make connections between historical dress, global fashion, and body adornment across cultures and time periods within a module. The lectures, research, discussions, and assignments in this course are developed to reframe the context to be about social class, gender identity and/or gender expression, sexual orientation, or national origin and ethnic differences, making connections between ethnicity/race and other aspects of social life that are influenced by global issues in dress, fashion, and adornment.
