ARTH 266 Aspects of the History of Fibre Art

• Fridays, 11:45 am-2:30 pm
• Blended course
• Instructor: Dr. Susan Surette

The global presence of textiles and their capacity to embody local and personal meaning make the history of fibre art a rich and varied field. This course offers a selective examination of the development of the fibre arts in Western and non-Western traditions. Historically affiliated with craft and viewed as signifier of the feminine and the non-industrial, textiles have at the same time played a key role in capitalist and industrial development and form part of the colonial trajectory. This course will examine this complex and charged history of fibre art through a series of linked case studies, presented through lectures, videos, and readings and explored through projects, papers and class discussions.  Each case study will represent a selected geographical location and/or different historical period, for instance: textile art and colonial presence in Southeast Asia, ties between the Scottish paisley shawl and the textile traditions of India, the cross-cultural expression of Navaho weaving, and western concepts of Japanism in relation to Japanese fibre art. These case studies will explore the tactile, sensual and human dimensions of textile art while also focussing on the transcultural aesthetic produced in what Mary Louise Pratt calls the ‘contact zones’ of colonial interaction. Concerns for gender and cultural identity, social status and allegiance (whether familial, cultural or political) will frame these discussions.