Hi Bo
Very interested to hear more about your PhD topic - it is very rare to hear of a topic like yours on this list!!
Please may I ask a few questions that will help me respond to yours?
1. Can you tell me some more about your reference to discourse analysis - e.g How will you collect discourse for analysis? What questions will you ask? Who will you ask? Where will you ask them?
2. Will you illustrate the discourse in any way ? (i.e. will you document what is being described/discussed/ and if so how?)
3. How do you define 'fashion'?
4. How do you define 'clothing'? (same or different as fashion?)
Your definition of semantics in the clothing context intrigues me- it implies that there are textual or symbolic messages inherent in garments that although shifting can be readily deciphered....I am interested to know more about how you will you account for the various 'messages' being sent and interpreted by the individuals wearing the clothes? i.e in relation to how the clothes are being worn and by whom ? e.g The communicative aesthetics of the wearer?
Look forward to hearing more
Fiona
www.a-brand.co.uk
>>> Bo Tsang <[log in to unmask]> 01/14/08 5:13 pm >>>
Dear Colleagues,
My PhD topic is to develop a toolkit for the fashion professions, to
investigate trend information through means of identifying changes in
perceived meaning and message in clothing.
As most might agree, clothing has a communicative capability. Clothing
semantic can be defined as the messages communicated about the identity
and intentions of the individual by their clothes and adornments. The
meanings of these semantic messages are no different from the meanings
of other signs, such as text and visual images, which are not inevitably
fixed. They are continually challenged and changed by various forces in
social practice. It is proposed that these changes influence individuals
'search and purchase' perception and behaviour.
The present route forward for me is to deploy discourse analysis to
identify the changing messages within the clothing context, first by
analysing narratives of 'storylines' elicited of respondents search and
purchase intent.
I would like to hear other people's views as to whether discourse
analysis would be an effective approach in this context? I also wonder
if any similar research is known to be being undertaken using discourse
analysis, any experience that can be shared.
Kind regards
Bo
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