General information

Course type AMUPIE
Module title Fashion, Politics, and Spectacle of Identities in European Culture
Language English
Module lecturer dr Zofia Kaczmarek
Lecturer's email lawinia@amu.edu.pl
Lecturer position Assistant Professor
Faculty Faculty of Anthropology and Cultural Studies
Semester 2026/2027 (summer)
Duration 30
ECTS 5
USOS code 20-PIE-FPS

Timetable

To be determined, 1 group x 15 h lectures and 15h worshop.

Module aim (aims)

The main aim of the course is to introduce students to the role and significance of fashion and dress within European culture, politics, and identity.

The course also aims to foster a critical approach to knowledge among students and to develop their ability to independently assess facts, processes, and phenomena discussed during the course.

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

A prerequisite for the course is proficiency in English at the B1-B2 level, as well as a basic understanding of European political and cultural history (at the secondary school level). Students who feel less confident in these areas are encouraged to develop and supplement their knowledge during the course.

Syllabus

Lectures (15h):

  1. Introduction to the Course.
  2. „Human - Thing Entanglement”. Post-Humanism and the State of Art.
  3. Humans, Textiles, Dress. A Short Overview.
  4. Spectacle of Identities.
  5. Fashion, Politics, and Ideology.
  6. Fashion and Culture.
  7. The Empire of Fashion.

Workshop (15h):

  1. How to Make These Ideas Yours?
  2. Engage yourself! A project.
  3. Project work. Designing Team Work.
  4. Project work. It’s All ‘Bout the Money.
  5. Project work. How to Make Your Ideas Come to Life.
  6. Project work. Engaging Others.
  7. Project work. Creating Your Space.
  8. Project presentation.

Reading list

Barthes R., 2010, The Fashion System, London.

Bender-Jørgensen L., The World According to Textiles, in: Ancient Textiles: Production, Craft and Society, ed. C. Gillis & M.-L. B. Nosch, Oxford: 7-12.

Bryan-Wilson J., 2017, Fray. Art + Textile Politics, Chicago.

Davidson Frame J., 2003, Managing Projects in Organizations: How to Make the Best Use of Time, Techniques, and People, San Francisco.

Dress and Ideology. Fashioning Identity from Antiquity to the Present, 2015, ed. S.-R. Marzel & G. D. Stiebel, London-New York.

Eicher J.B. & Evenson S.L., 2024, The Visible Self. Fashion and Dress Across Cultures, London-New York.

Eicher J.B. & Roach-Higgins M.E., 1992, Dress and Identity, Clothing and Textiles Research Journal 10 (4): 1-8.

Fashion and Feeling. The Affective Politics of Dress, 2023, ed. R. Filippello & I. Parkins (eBook).

Fashion Theory (A Reader), 2007, ed. M. Barnard, London and New York.

Hodder I., 2011, Human-Thing Entanglement: Towards An Integrated Archaeological Perspective, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 17: 154-177.

Laurie A. 2000, The Language of Clothes, New York.

Riello G., 2011, The Object of Fashion: Methodological Approaches to the History of Fashion, Journal of Aesthetics & Culture 3: 1-9.

Simmel G., 1957, Fashion, American Journal of Sociology 62 (6): 541-558.

Social Media Handbook for Cultural Professionals, Embrace Digital, Licence: CC-BY-SA

Toussaint-Samat M., 1990, Histoire technique et morale du vêtement, Paris.

What Shall I Say of Clothes? Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to the Study of Dress in Antiquity, 2017, ed. M. Cifarelli & L. Gawliński, Boston.

Wild J.P. 2007, Methodological Introduction, in: Ancient Textiles: Production, Craft and Society, ed. C. Gillis & M.-L. B. Nosch, Oxford: 1-6.