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Fashion - Fashion Studies

  • FFS 102 - Dress, The Body, and Identity
    Course DescriptionThis course examines the historical and contemporary framing of the human form in Western culture, focusing specifically on the centrality of the body in the fashion systems of the past, present and future. Various theoretical approaches will examine the role and function of the body in relevant contexts from the marketing and imaging of bodies in the fashion industry, to a consideration of dress as a material form of cultural meaning and communication that is reliant on social norms and ideologies. Identity politics, intersectionality, decolonization and an appraisal of current issues with regard to the representation of the body in contemporary fashion media will also be considered. Lecture/Lab format.
    Weekly Contact:Lecture 2 hrs. Lab 1 hr.
    GPA Weight:1.00
    Billing Units:1
    Count:1.00
    Prerequisites:FSN 223
  • FFS 110 - Art and Historical Change
    Course DescriptionAddressing Western art from the perspective of historical revivals, reformation and critique, this course will span the Renaissance to the present. Themes covered may include: Classicism in the Renaissance and the 18th Century; the Gothic revival of the Victorian period; representation, power and privilege; the politics of space; the production and consumption of art; and critiques of art history through a consideration of intersectionality and decolonization.
    Weekly Contact:Lecture 2 hrs. Tutorial 1 hr.
    GPA Weight:1.00
    Billing Units:1
    Count:1.00
    Antirequisites:FSN 132
  • FFS 120 - Fashion and Race
    Course DescriptionThis course will investigate the ways in which fashioned identities emerge within a racialized context in an effort to gain access, visibility and power–bridging key concepts in fashion studies with foundations in critical race theory, as well as methodologies from disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, art history and material culture. Discussions and exercises will address topics such as (but not limited to): The history of ‘race’ and the Western beauty canon; how race sets the limitations of belonging and citizenship when it comes to dress and appearance; cultural appropriation and the boundaries of material ownership; how the business of fashion grapples with race in retail spaces, image-making and employment diversity.
    Weekly Contact:Lecture 2 hrs. Lab 1 hr.
    GPA Weight:1.00
    Billing Units:1
    Count:1.00
  • FFS 200 - Textile Histories
    Course DescriptionThis course examines textile histories in relation to material culture and critical theory, from the early modern period to the present, and in a variety of cultural and geographic settings. From the raw materials, to the finished fabrics, key textiles and fibres will be highlighted in order to understand social and global sites of exchange and artistic practice. Themes around production, consumption, embodiment and making will enable fruitful intersections between a social history of textiles and emerging theories in the fields of fashion, art, craft and design.
    Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.
    GPA Weight:1.00
    Billing Units:1
    Count:1.00
  • FFS 400 - Embodying Textiles
    Course DescriptionThis seminar presents a focused exploration of the ephemeral and material links between textiles and bodies in contemporary culture. Textiles are the raw materials for everyday dress as well as high-end couture, but they are also the means by which fibre and/or conceptual artists, craftspeople and other practitioners explore meaningful discourses in the art world, articulate social relations and bring meditative ritual to the hands and bodies of makers. This course will embrace both written and/or creative outcomes—exploring tensions between practice and theory, and the embodiment of textiles as a form of conceptual becoming.
    Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.
    GPA Weight:1.00
    Billing Units:1
    Count:1.00
    Prerequisites:FFS 200
  • FFS 402 - Fashion and Modernity
    Course DescriptionThis foundation course covers modern fashion from the mid-Eighteenth Century to the present day. Through the use of primary and secondary literature, visual representations and objects, this lecture course provides an in-depth examination of the period and familiarizes students with the central debates, issues, resources and working methods in fashion studies. Selected themes from the period may cover the origins of mass-production and the so-called democratization of fashion; its relation to the modern city and modern notions of identity; developments in retailing and shopping and the emergence of mass circulation fashion magazines; the rise of the textile and fashion designers and the role of the fashion photographer. Throughout the course, the central importance of gender, class, and race in modernity will be explored. Lecture format.
    Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.
    GPA Weight:1.00
    Billing Units:1
    Count:1.00
  • FFS 511 - Fashion and Material Culture
    Course DescriptionThis course introduces the concept of material culture:the investigation of objects made or modified by humans. It examines objects as material expressions of values, social relationships, political ideologies, economic conditions and cultural change over time. Working from the premise that every object can reveal information about past and present societies, students will study material culture as well as processes of production, consumption, collection and disposal. Through lectures and field work, students will engage in unique research that will change how they experience objects and the world. The course is designed to allow for both collaborative and individual research, and is also specifically focused on developing writing and critical thinking skills. Lecture format.
    Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.
    GPA Weight:1.00
    Billing Units:1
    Count:1.00
  • FFS 610 - Topics in Fashion Studies
    Course DescriptionThis seminar course provides students with a unique opportunity to experience Fashion Studies research in action and to engage in their own original research. Taught by a faculty member who is actively engaged in an innovative, interdisciplinary research project, the seminar content and approach change each time it is offered. Topics include historical and/or theoretical approaches to the study of fashion. Please contact the instructor for further information about the seminar theme in any given year.
    Weekly Contact:Lab 3 hrs.
    GPA Weight:1.00
    Billing Units:1
    Count:1.00
    Prerequisites:FSN 203
  • FFS 625 - Mobilizing Fashion Studies
    Course DescriptionIn this lab-based course, senior students propose and produce a professional academic event such as an exhibition or symposium. Students will have the opportunity to work on both individual and collaborative projects that disseminate fashion studies knowledge beyond the classroom and beyond academia. Students will begin the professionalization of their fashion studies with praxis, the combination of theory and practice, by producing fashion culture and shaping fashion discourse on history, theory, materials, methods and more. The course will introduce academic event planning and management with emphasis on community engagement and public facing activism.
    Weekly Contact:Lab 3 hrs.
    GPA Weight:1.00
    Billing Units:1
    Count:1.00
    Prerequisites:FSN 303
  • FFS 702 - Fashion and the Abject Body
    Course DescriptionThis course examines representations of difference and embodiment in and through the lens of fashion. Drawing on feminist-informed gender, fat, disability, and critical race studies, the course introduces phenomenological, poststructuralist and new materialist perspectives on the body and explores the implications of diverse embodiments for human subjectivity, visual culture and social life. Normative discourses and hegemonic structures surrounding themes of diversity, disability, aging, racialized bodies, body management practices, gender and sexuality are examined. Students explore positive interventions and strategies for combatting marginalization and discriminatory practices in fashion through integrated creative and written projects. Lab format.
    Weekly Contact:Lecture 3 hrs.
    GPA Weight:1.00
    Billing Units:1
    Count:1.00
    Prerequisites:FFS 102
  • FFS 710 - Post-Colonial Perspectives
    Course DescriptionCovering colonial, neo-colonial and post-colonial contexts, this course offers students a global perspective on issues surrounding the cultural flow of dress, clothing and fashion in a range of geographic and diasporic formations. Post-colonial theories will inform the investigation of themes such as identity politics, issues of appropriation and cultural exchange, diasporic expressions, and race-relations in both historical and contemporary settings.
    Weekly Contact:Lab 3 hrs.
    GPA Weight:1.00
    Billing Units:1
    Count:1.00
    Prerequisites:FFS 402