DES1407: Fashion and Feminism: Dressing for Change

This class explores the sometimes problematic relationship between fashion and feminism. Literature from first wave feminism reveals visceral tensions between fashion and the perceived value of women in society. Fashionable dress was considered constrictive, submissive, and indicative of women?s diminished role in both private and public realms. Second wave feminism, which took place between approximately 1963 and 1975, did not often address fashion directly. However, there were dramatic changes in beauty ideals during this time. Second wave feminism reached mainstream culture through authors such as Simone de Beauvoir, Frances Beal, Betty Friedan, and Gloria Steinem.To arrive at a stronger understanding of women's movements in the United States, readings will be selected that offer some context for major political and social movements during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Occasional short lectures will be given throughout the semester to highlight fashion history, providing context for readings. Additionally, the class will look at ways that women from different racial, social, and cultural backgrounds experienced feminism during the late 19th and 20th centuries, as well as today. Readings, videos, and in-class activities will be used to prompt students to reflect on their own practices and self-presentation. Small group discussion will be used frequently to get at deeper meanings behind readings. Clothing objects from the Goldstein Museum of Design?s permanent collection will be used intermittently to study social mores and norms associated with women?s changing roles in society.

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