History

Past & Present; Beauty, Fashion and History

Module code: V1475D
Level 6
30 credits in autumn semester
Teaching method: Lecture, Seminar
Assessment modes: Not yet finalised

Notions of beauty and fashion not merely represent, but intrinsically 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-nineteenth century, you’ll explore the value of clothing and beauty products in appreciating the broader connections between business history, gender history, the history of the body, the histories of race and empire, performance studies, media culture and historical geography. Among specific topics covered are: Dior and the cult of the fashion designer: the corset and nineteenth-century femininity: male uniforms and fashion; black hairstyles in the 1960s; and film stars as fashion icons.