Fall 2012 – Course List

How do  ineffable factors such as taste, mood, and social climate affect value in the aesthetic markets of fashion?   This course will consider the business of fashion not only in terms of production, but also branding, the models who promote the styles, and the consumers who buy them. Students will be exposed to readings across a range of topics including selections from among works by Pietra Rivoli, Don Slater, Sharon Zukin, Thuy Linh Nguyen Tu, Nancy Green, Ashley Mears, Joanne Entwistle, Nigel Thrift, Alison Hearn, Thorsten Veblen, and Pierre Bourdieu.  We will discuss a range of topics, including global labor flows within the garment industry; a select history of fashion production practices; a sociology of shopping; various treatments of consumers and consumption; an ethnography of the modeling industry; critical discussions of branding, design, and luxury markets; technology and innovation; fast fashion; eco fashion; and sustainability. Each student will research and write in at least one of these areas, culminating in a final project aimed at sharing this research.