Exploring Social Justice Issues Through Design in an Apparel Design Studio Course

Thumbnail Image
Date
2016-11-09
Major Professor
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Authors
Person
Reddy-Best, Kelly
Professor
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Series
International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) Annual Conference Proceedings
Iowa State University Conferences and Symposia

The first national meeting of textile and clothing professors took place in Madison, Wisconsin in June 1959. With a mission to advance excellence in education, scholarship and innovation, and their global applications, the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) is a professional and educational association of scholars, educators, and students in the textile, apparel, and merchandising disciplines in higher education.

This site provides free, public access to the ITAA annual conference proceedings beginning in 2015. Previous proceedings can be found by following the "Additional ITAA Proceedings" link on the left sidebar of this page.

Department
Abstract

Boden (2004) explained that one way to be creative is to make “unfamiliar combinations of familiar ideas'(p. 2). One familiar concept at a public institution set in an urban environment in the United States is social justice. The goal of this teaching technique was to engage students with social justice issues throughout the design process in an apparel design studio setting. This project was designed to infuse and encourage engagement with an important topic in a non-traditional fashion. The instructor defined social justice and equity, and then provided several examples of inequalities present in our society. Students were required to identify a social injustice and research the topic by examining news, journals, or other outlets. Students were encouraged to utilize visual representation in the design or utilize emotions associated with the injustice in the construction and elements throughout the design process and execution. Students utilized a variety of social justice inspiration sources such as racial inequity, sexism, colorism, classism, and abelism. During presentations, students exhibited strong emotion and connection to their results.

Comments
Description
Keywords
Citation
DOI
Source
Subject Categories
Copyright