Lecture on Material Culture
Today we attended a lecture on material culture delivered by Dr Frances Robertson from the GSA. The talk was very interactive and at some point the lecturer asked us to play a dress detective. This entailed swapping jackets with people around the room in order to examine them - for example the fabric, style, how it fits the body shape, etc - and then think about the history, potential influences and inspirations. The students examine their jackets, talking about the fit, design, fabric and discussing what the different features can say about the people who wear them The students being jacket detectives - some fabrics make rustling noises We got down to work and soon the room was full of buzz, people feeling the jackets, turning them inside out to, and even smelling them. We discovered that some made sounds, crunchy or rustling; some were very soft to touch, some very loose while others were quite tight-fitting. Once we were done with the analysis, Frances examined some of...