The Visible Self Global Perspectives on Dress, Culture and Society

by Eicher, Joanne B.; Evenson, Sandra Lee

• ISBN13: 9781609018702
• ISBN10: 1609018702
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2014-08-14
• Publisher: Fairchild Books

Summary

Everywhere around the world, people make daily decisions about what to wear or how to dress. The Visible Self, 4th Edition, presents a systematic approach to analyzing daily rituals that we all share—not simply the act of putting on clothing, but also the method of cleansing the body and adorning it. Using Western and non-Western examples, the authors take a three-pronged approach to understanding dress across cultures, uncovering its relationship to human beings as biological, aesthetic, and social beings. Readings collected from classic books and academic journals enable students to appreciate the complexity of dress from a multidisciplinary perspective that includes anthropology, sociology, economics, fine arts, and the natural sciences. This new edition covers topics including social media, social responsibility, eco-fashion, plus subcultures and trends such as cosplay, making it a relevant resource for studying dress.

New to this Edition:
- Newly organized Part III uses John Bodley's revised analysis of sociocultural systems to relate to dress and fashion across the world
- New reading by John Vollmer in Part III on the Qing Dynasty of China
- Revised and expanded art program, including 65 new photographs

Author Biography

Joanne B. Eicher is Regents Professor Emerita at University of Minnesota where she taught for nearly 20 years. She is Editor-in-Chief of the ten volume Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion (Bloomsbury Academic, 2010), editor of the Dress, Body and Culture book series (Bloomsbury Academic) and has authored many other books on culture, dress and identity.

Sandra Lee Evenson is a Professor and Interim Director in the Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Idaho, USA, where she has taught courses on dress and culture and apparel design.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Part I: The Systematic Study of Dress
1 The Classification System of Dress
2 Studying Dress, Culture, and Society
3 Records of the Types of Dress
4 Written Interpretations of Dress
Readings for Part I
I.1. The Baths by Alev Lytle Croutier
I.2. Body Ritual among the Nacirema byHorace Miner
I.3. Eurocentrism in the Study of Ethnic Dress by Suzanne Baizerman, Joanne B. Eicher, and Catherine Cerny
I.4. Many Disciplines, Many Rewards: Inuit Clothing Research by Betty Kobayashi Issenman
I.5. Dress as a Reflection and Sustainer of Social Reality: A Cross-Cultural Perspective by Jean A. Hamilton and James W. Hamilton
Part II: Physical Appearance, Environment, and Dress
5 Physical Appearance and Dress
6 Body, Dress, and Environment
Readings for Part II
II.1. Pressure of Menswear on the Neck in Relation to Visual Performance by Leonora M. Langan and Susan M. Watkins
II.2. Innerskins/Outerskins: Gut and Fishskin by Pat Hickman
Part III: Culture, Society, and Dress
7 The Twenty-first Century
8 Earlier Times, Other People and Places
Readings for Part III
III.1. Ga’anda Scarification: A Model for Art and Identity by Marla C. Berns
III.2. They Don’t Wear Wigs Here by Barbara A. Schreier
III.3. In Service of the Dragon Throne by John E. Vollmer
III.4. Helping or Hindering? Controversies around the International Second-Hand Clothing Trade by Karen Tranberg Hansen
Part IV: Art, Aesthetics, and Dress
9 The Art of Creating Dress
10 Ideals for Individual Appearance and the Art of Dress
11 The Art of Dress: Conformity and Individuality
12 Dress and the Arts
Readings for Part IV
IV.1. The Aesthetics of Men’s Dress of the Kalabari of Nigeria by Tonye V. Erekosima and Joanne B. Eicher
IV.2. The Sweetness of Fat: Health, Procreation, and Sociability in Rural Jamaica by Elisa J. Sobo
IV.3. Scruffy Is Badge of Pride, but Some Physicists Long for Cool by Malcolm W. Browne
IV.4. Signature Style: Falling Off the Fashion Train with Frida, Georgia and Louise by Jo Ann C. Stabb
Bibliography
Credits for Figures
Index