This course enables students to think critically and creatively about the research and application of textile and dress history in a range of contexts. It includes an introduction to the history and nature of dress and textile collections, as well as the curation, preservation and interpretation of such artefacts in a variety of cultural heritage contexts. Students will develop professional skills of benefit to their future careers, with a particular emphasis on research and those wishing to work in museums or with historic collections.

8 x 1 hour lecture

8 x 1 hour seminar

2 x 2 hour study trips over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus

None

None

Commentary (1,500 words) - 30%

Essay (2,500 words) - 50%

Presentation: 10 mins - 20%

This course aims to:

■ examine professional practices in the research and curation of dress and textiles

■ explore practices in the collecting, interpretation and preventive conservation of dress and textiles and gain insights into the need to balance access and preservation

■ familiarize students with approaches to communicating ideas and knowledge about dress and textile histories in public contexts (museums / virtual media / design)

■ explore how ideas and knowledge gathered through dress and textile object-based research can be applied in different contexts.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ evaluate and critique dress and textiles exhibitions and other public outcomes of research

■ evaluate and debate the need to balance the provision of access to collections with the need to preserve them

■ produce sustained arguments in both written and oral form based on a variety of visual and textual evidence relating to approaches to professional practices in research, curation and interpretation of dress and textiles

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.