History

Past & Present: Beauty, Fashion and History

Module code: V1475
Level 6
30 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Seminar
Assessment modes: Coursework

Notions of beauty and fashion help shape, conceptions of class, gender, national and racial identities, selfhood and sexuality, in both the past and the present.

Focusing on the western world since the mid-19th century, this module explores how clothing and beauty products reveal connections between:

  • business history
  • gender history
  • the history of the body
  • the histories of race and empire
  • performance studies
  • media culture
  • historical geography.

You’ll examine how these items reflect and shape broader cultural, social, and historical trends.

Topics include:

  • Dior and the cult of the fashion designer
  • the corset and 19th-century femininity
  • male uniforms and fashion
  • black hairstyles in the 1960s
  • film stars as fashion icons.

Module learning outcomes

  • Deploy a historical perspective on contemporary problems through an exploration of their origins, evolution, and legacies.
  • Analyse how contemporary perspectives may reshape our understanding of the past.
  • Undertake a critical analysis and assessment of historical categories.
  • Construct sophisticated written arguments that demonstrate intellectual maturity and integrity.