WRIT 082: RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Spring 2022 Courses

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WRIT 082 302

TR 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Fackler

Fashion & Religion

Fulfills the Writing Requirement

When we think of religious clothing, we tend not to think of fashion. Rather, we think of religious clothing as something that sets people apart from the crowd and certainly apart from the lightning fast changes and trends of haute couture. Whether it's Amish folks with their plain fabrics and garments, the "secret" temple clothing of Mormons, the plain black suits of Hasidic men, or the various headscarves and overgarments often associated with Muslims, we often think of religious fashion as something designed to highlight difference. To some of us, these clothing choices may even represent oppression, discrimination, or an excessive devotion to religious customs. But in many cases, pious people are negotiating the same social forces and concerns about identity, appearance, and consumption as the rest of society and with as much variety and ingenuity as their neighbors. In this course we will explore the ethics, aesthetics, and politics of what one researcher calls "pious fashion". Focusing first on the fashion of Muslim women, the course will explore how religious, political, and social forces shape and are shaped by the very personal choice of what to wear and how to wear it. If clothes make the person, then what kind of person do our clothes make us?

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