13th September 11:30 ? 4pm.
Council Chamber, Sackville Street, University of Manchester.
Denim workshop: interdisciplinary methods for exploring Narratives and
Materiality.
The proliferation of research into materiality and material culture
within the social sciences raises interesting questions about methods,
as word based approaches (such as interviews) on their own come to
seem increasingly limited. This one day workshop aims to take up some
of these challenges, and rather than offer any straightforward
answers, to create a dialogue around different approaches to the
materiality of clothing. It arises out of a collaborative project
between the School of Materials and Sociology (funded by
methods@manchester). Taking the particular example of ?old jeans?
(that is, pairs of jeans people are about to throw out), the
discussion of methods will focus in particular upon how to understand
the material narratives of the clothing. Denim jeans are a
particularly pertinent example to explore questions of materiality, as
much of the relationship we have to clothing is embodied, sensual and
materialised, rather than necessarily being verbalised.
The methods that will be brought into dialogue in the workshop are:
1.Social science approaches (life history interviews, material and
object based interviews), with those employed in textile technology
and colour chemistry (the properties of dyes, fibres, how they are
woven).
2.Design (remaking of new garments from old jeans) to explore the
possibility of design as a methodology as the narrative of objects is
extended. This will be seen in relation to presentations by second
hand clothing recyclers to explore how value and ?use? are reassessed
and how ?touch? and material properties are differently assessed in
the sorting process.
If you wish to attend, contact Dr Sophie Woodward
([log in to unmask]), to confirm your attendance, as
places are limited.
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