FWS: Fashioning the Caribbean: Dress, Textile, and History

Catalog description

How do we talk about the dress culture of the Caribbean in the face of major historical events, such as the trans-Atlantic slave trade? What is the relationship between text and textiles/clothing? This seminar explores how we think, talk, and write about fashion through a historical lens. Engaging with scholars from History and Black Studies and Caribbean novelists, such as Danielle C. Skeehan, Marie Vieux-Chauvet, and Robert S. Duplessis, we will investigate different interpretations of history through an exploration of non-traditional archives (i.e., textiles) that challenge the written word as the sole authoritative source of the historical narrative of the Caribbean. Writing assignments will include discussion posts, descriptive essays, analytical essays, and research papers as we explore the intersection of Caribbean fashion and history.