Radical & Diverse Fashion History

This new course will examine inclusive practices
in fashion, costume, and dress history studies,
both historical and contemporary. We will look at
not only "his" story and "her" story, but "their"
story and "our" story through art, photography,
painting, sculpture, mixed media and social media.
Waiting around the corner of many famous paintings
or photographs are subjects of color, non-western
subjects and LGBTQ+ subjects. This course dives
into a circular and inclusive way of looking at
history, and empowers students to become equitable
image researchers and interpreters. Research
projects will focus on society and culture as a
whole, rather than at the most famous or most
wealthy at the top of a pyramid. Students will
learn how to find high quality fashion and dress
images, how to use them in their work, and how
costume designers can be advocates for diversity
and equity in casting. This class investigates
what belonging means, who has the power to include
or exclude, and
how clothing plays a role in non-verbally and
symbolically transmitting crucial clues to who we
are as humans and individuals, and as a result,
how performance and theater can be culture
changing art forms.