Credits: 2
Schedule: 01.11.2018 - 13.12.2018
Teaching Period (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
II
Learning Outcomes (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
This interdisciplinary course examines how European fashion developed in fifteenth and sixteenth century Europe. The objective is to study what changes were introduced into the local cultures of clothing, how the lives of individuals and families were visually and materially transformed by such changes, and, eventually, what constituted ‘fashions’ in the period, in both South and North Europe. The course aims to provide students with a methodological understanding of how to obtain new knowledge from visual, written and material evidence in a broad interdisciplinary context. This framework is designed to ensure that students will be able to: Understand historical clothing and its multiple social and economic meanings in society; acquire theoretical knowledge of fashion concepts and evaluate the meaning and significance of the term ‘fashion’ in historical context; explore issues of textiles and clothing in relation to identity, gender and age, and apply them in material culture studies; acquire knowledge about materials and making of historical garments and accessories.
Content (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
The sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries represented an important period of change in European fashions. The rapid changes in tastes and the wide circulation of new fashion innovations, popularised by European courts and promoted by flourishing cloth trade, introduced new concepts into the traditional, local ways of dressing, changing not only the way clothing was made, decorated and worn, but also bringing new values into the systems of dress. Fashionable appearance was no longer associated just with the high cost of the fabric, but the display of new styles and international fashion manufactures such as ruffs, fans, or light silk fabrics, became an important part of the dress culture. This course introduces some of the central themes in contemporary international research of early modern fashion, clothing and textiles in the Mediterranean region (mainly Italy) and Scandinavia. The special topics to be addressed include: Social and cultural meanings of dress; ideas about fashion; novelty in dress; international textile trade and fashion dissemination; making and buying clothing; cultural practices associated with dress. These themes are designed to provide the students, on the one hand, with a basic understanding of historical dress and its social and cultural meanings in early modern European society and, on the other, with tools to evaluate what impact novel fashion products and changing cultural dress habits had on social behaviour, regulation of appearance and the cultural meanings of dress in Europe.
Assessment Methods and Criteria (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
Lectures and interactive discussions. Group work, individual assignments, and role tasks in the class. Discussions based on examples, key words, concepts and texts introduced in the course. Successful completion of the course requires students to participate in 80% of the classes, as well as to complete an independent assignment.
Workload (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
Contact teaching 18h, independent work 36h
Study Material (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
During the course and in MyCourses
Grading Scale (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
0-5
Further Information (valid 01.08.2018-31.07.2020):
Minimum amount of participants is 8 students.
Two places are reserved for exchange students.