Topic outline

  • Welcome to the course Fashion in Society!

    This course focuses on fashion as an important societal, cultural and embodied phenomenon. Through lectures, texts and workshops on topical themes, you will learn to understand how fashion is shaped by forces beyond design. The course also gives you tools for thinking and contextualizing your own creative practice (for example the written part of your BA- or MA-thesis).


    There are two possible ways to pass the course:

    1. Attending lectures and making assigned tasks (see the program below)

    2. Self-study (see instructions in the section "Self-Study Option")


    Program for lectures


    1.3. SOCIETY

    9.15-12 Intro-lecture: Fashion in Society

    13-15 Guest lecture by Professor of Fashion Studies Liudmila Aliabeva: How have global and local fashion brands reacted to the invasion of Russia to Ukraine?


    15.3. BODY

    9.15-11 Lecture: Fashion as expression of identity

    12-15 Workshop on age with PhD researcher Ida-Sofia Tuomisto 



    FRIDAY 31.3.  CULTURE

    NOTE! THIS IS A LIVE LECTURE AT OTANIEMI CAMPUS, LECTURE HALL A208d Jeti. Otakaari 5, A Grid, 2nd floor.

    13-15 Guest lecture by Professor of Fashion Design Piret Puppart: Fashion, Cultural Identity, Cultural Appropriation and Finno-Ugric Clothing Traditions

    Pre-assignment for the workshop: 


    1. Read the below-mentioned design manifesto and the introductory chapter for postcolonial critique of fashion

    2. Bring 1 item, experience, visual, sound, story etc., to describe your identity and look into the meaning/etymology/family legend of your last name. Be prepared to talk about the two things in a small group in class.

    Readings to prepare for the lecture:

    - a more general text Decolonising Design Manifesto by Danah Abdulla, Ahmed Ansari et al (2018)

    - a slightly more fashion-centred text Fashion and Postcolonial Critique: An Introduction by Elke Gaugele and MonicaTitton (2019)



    5.4. DIGITAL WORLD

    9.15.-11 Lecture: Fashion and digitalization

    12-15 Workshop on AI as designer


    19.4. FINAL PRESENTATIONS & WRAPPING UP THE COURSE

    How can fashion change the world?

    9.15-11 Presentations in small groups

    Presentations: Each student presents their thoughts on how fashion can change the world in their small group. Prepare a presentation by deepening one of the themes discussed during the course. Draw from materials, lectures and discussions of the course and find your own examples. 

    Each member of  the small group presents their thoughts to others for 10 minutes after which the whole group has a general discussion about the themes presented for 20 minutes. One of the students in the small group will make sure everyone has 10 minutes to present. Everybody makes notes about other's presentations to help the discussion and to learn together from others and their thoughts.

    11-13 Wrapping up the course


    Course deliverables 

    To pass the course, you will do the following assignments:

    1. Attend lectures

    2. Read articles, listen to podcasts, attend discussions 

    4. Prepare a 10-minute long final 10-minute presentation addressing the question How can fashion change the world? and present it to fellow students 


    FORMAT OF THE CLASSES

    The course convenes five times, four times on-line and once physically. The physical meeting is on Friday 31 March at 13-15 pm at Otaniemi campus when the Professor of Fashion Design Piret Puppart from Estonian Academy of the Arts – EKA will give a lecture on fashion, cultural identity and cultural appropriation.

    On-line classes will start with an introductory lecture and are followed by discussions and workshops.

    The final assignment: You will prepare a 10-minute long presentation on how fashion can change the world. You should use course materials and your own findings in making the task. The presentation can be a regular powerpoint-presentation, or a short video, photographic essay or some other kind of creative output suited to you. Just remember that you will present the final presentation to others in Zoom. This means that you should select a method that is suited to this particular form of presentation. 

    When preparing the final presentation, remember that the aim of the course is to help you to think about the role of fashion in contemporary world; to form a plausible framework for your creative work in fashion; and / or to inspire you to think further the topic in your upcoming thesis or other projects.


    PASSING THE COURSE

    Attending lectures and delivering assigned tasks. All work is done during the course. This also applies to the self-study option.

    ABSENCES

    1. if you follow the lectures, you can be absent once. Your presence on lectures is monitored. 

    2. If you know that you will be absent more than once, you are recommended do take the self-study option where you can do the course in your own pace

    GRADING

    The course is graded pass/fail. 


    DEADLINE FOR SELF-STUDY OPTION

    19 April at 23.59 pm


    HOUSE RULES

    • Let’s try to make the course a safe and inclusive place for everyone
    • Let's respect others and be on time on the course
    • Let’s try not to make identity-related assumptions about each other. You can talk to Annamari  and Ida-Sofia if you feel unsafe or violated
    • It is always ok to ask if you feel you don’t understand a word, concept or term or anything else
    • Let’s try to give everyone an equal chance to participate in group discussions
    • We should always choose a person who will moderate the small group discussion, giving everyone the chance to speak
    • Let’s try not to talk over others. You can use the hand signal to ask for the floor