The honours minor Fashion Theories is designed for students who are insufficiently challenged in their regular bachelor’s degree programme related to fashion, design or humanities studies. Are you interested in the cultural basis of identity? Do you wonder what the socio-historical context is of the way in which we think about the body and dress? Or are you curious toward radical new insights into marketing based on aesthetic and symbolic interaction? If you are interested in thinking about fashion as a cultural phenomenon from profound perspectives and do not necessarily spend hours shopping or dressing, this minor may be something for you.

All three modules have fashion in the broadest sense as their main subject; yet have different starting points:

The Fashionable Body helps you to acquire an insight into anthropological studies pertaining to body, dress and fashion and learn to discuss if these might be used as pointers to help us understand modern European society.

Theories of Fashion, Culture and Identity focuses on the profound perspective upon fashion within its cultural context as well on insight into, and criticism of, performance of identity through fashion within a modern capitalist society. 

Marketing & Consumer Culture focuses on two issues that have always been relevant for fashion, and that other industries are increasingly adopting: The determinant role of aesthetic over functional values and the role of products in the process of symbolic interaction. The mechanisms of fashion discussed offer radical new insights into marketing.

Research, Referencing & Writing is supportive of the modules above and will guide you through the process of writing a research paper, finding quality sources and referencing. 

The student:

- becomes acquainted with theories of cultural history and acquires awareness of the importance of using primary sources and related critical texts. He/she acquires insight into anthropological studies pertaining to body, dress and fashion and learns to discuss if these might be used as pointers to help us understand modern European society.

- develops a profound insight upon fashion within its cultural context and acquires an insight into the representation of identity through fashion. He/she gains knowledge of the appropriate theories, themes and authors and is able to apply, discuss, and argue the visions offered.

- acquires an overview of mainstream, postmodern and contemporary views on marketing and consumption activity and knows how to combine theoretical insights with practical implications and reflects knowledge of these in writing.

- will be able to use critical analysis, research and writing to translate insights into a paper and presentations of applied academic quality.

Apart from having completed the foundation year successfully, the student must have obtained 60 ECTS from the main phase. The student needs to expound his or her motivation. The student's mentor or a theory lecturer familiar with the student's qualities and skills must endorse the motivation.

In addition, the student must be able to understand, interpret and discuss complex texts of considerable length in English. The student must be able to read and speak fluent English and write in formal English or Dutch and he or she needs the discipline to self-study and search and examine extra sources.Students must submit the following by e-mail to the coordinator, upon enrolment. 

Students that meet the above requirements will be invited for an intake-talk in which the expectations and skills will be discussed and evaluated.

A preliminary selection of literature used during the minor is as follows:

• Benjamin, W. (2008). The Work of Art in the Age of its Technological Reproducibility. Cambridge, 2008.
• Breuer, R.L. (2015) Fashion Beyond Identity. The Three Ecologies of Dress. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam.
• Brown, S. (2002). Vote, Vote, Vote for Philip Kotler. In: European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 313-324.
• Brown, S. (2005). Science, Serendipity, and the Contemporary Marketing Condition. In: European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 39 No. 11/12, pp. 1229-1234.
• Butler, Judith (1990). Gender Trouble, Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, New York: Routledge.
• Colebrook, C. (2002). Understanding Deleuze, Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.
• Deleuze, G. and Félix Guattari (2004 [1980]) 'Rhizome', in A Thousand Plateaus. Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 3-28.
• Deleuze, G. and Claire Parnet (1987 [1977]). 'Many Politics', in: Dialogues, New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 124-147.
• Du Gay, P. (ed.) (1997). Doing cultural studies, the story of the Sony Walkman, London: SAGE publications.
• Foucault, M., Discipline and Punish. The Birth of the Prison. New York. 1977.
• Fuat Firat, A. and A. Venkatesh (1995). Liberatory Postmodernism and the Reenchantment of Consumption. In: The Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 22 No. 3 (Dec.1995), pp. 239-267.
• Guattari, F. (2000 [1989]). The Three Ecologies, London/New Jersey: The Athlone Press.
• Hebdige, D. (1979). Subculture: The meaning of style, London and New York: Routledge.
• Hunt, L. (2009). Freedom of Dress in revolutionary France. In: Peter MacNeil,
  Fashion: Critical and Primary Sources, Vol. 2, Oxford, pp. 22-43.
• Kawamura, Y. (2011). Doing Research in Fashion and Dress, Oxford New/York: Berg.
• Mauss, M. (1979). The Notion of Body Techniques. In: Sociology and Psychology: Essays. London, pp. 97-109.
• Mirzoeff, N. (1999). An Introduction to Visual Culture. London.
• Mossinkoff, M. and C. Corstanje. From Segments and Lifestles to Communities Light: Identifying Islamic Sub-Cultures in the Netherlands. In: Journal of Islamic Marketing, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 154-164.
• Moutinho, L., P. Dionísio and C. Leal (2007). Surf Tribal Behaviour: A Sports Marketing Application. In: Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 25 No. 7, pp. 668- 690.
• Ritzer, G. and N. Jurgenson (2010). Production, Consumption, Prosumption: The Nature of Capitalism in the Age of the Digital 'Prosumer'. In: Journal of Consumer Culture, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 13-36.
• Schilling, C. (2005) Technological Bodies. In: The Body in Culture, Technology and Society. London, pp. 173-198.
• Sennett, R. (1986).The Fall of Public Man. London.
• Storey, John (2008). Cultural theory and popular culture, an introduction (5th edition), London: Routledge.
• Thomas, C. (1999). Queen of Fashion. In: The Wicked Queen. The Origins of the Myth of Marie-Antoinette, New York, pp. 81-103.
• Wilkie, W.L. and E. S. Moore (2003). Scholarly Research in Marketing: Exploring the "4 Eras" of Thought Development. In: Journal of Public and Policy Marketing, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 116-146.

To be announced before the start of the course.

Contact time:

Research, Referencing and Writing

The contact hours consist of five, two-hour lectures; ten hours in total. And there are three consultancy opportunities of each four hours, adding up to 12 hours in total. Apart from these there are contact hours consisting of e-mail contact and brief individual questions before or after the lecture hours.

Fashion and the Body

The contact hours consist of twelve, five-hour lectures; 60 hours in total. Apart from these there are contact hours consisting of e-mail contact and brief individual questions before or after the lecture hours. In addition, there are feedback moments through e-mail during the writing of your paper and an elaborate final feedback and recommendation report.

Theories of Culture

The contact hours consist of twenty-four, three to four-hour lectures; 78 hours in total. Apart from these there are contact hours consisting of e-mail contact and brief individual questions before or after the lecture hours. In addition, there are two feedback moments through e-mail during the writing of your paper and an elaborate final feedback and recommendation report.

Marketing Theories

The contact hours consist of ten, five-hour lectures; 50 hours in total. Apart from these there are contact hours consisting of e-mail contact and brief individual questions before or after the lecture hours. In addition, there are two feedback moments through e-mail during the writing of your paper and an elaborate final feedback and recommendation report.

The Minor Fashion Theories consists of three modules lectured during the 2nd semester:

1. Fashion and the Body (10 ECTS)
2. Theories of Fashion, Culture and Identity (10 ECTS)
3. Marketing Theories (10 ECTS)
Academic Writing Skills (supportive of the three subjects)

  Exam: Three papers (one per subject) and occasional assignments and presentations to be submitted in (approx.) week 16-18.

Resit: Rewritten and corrected paper per subject to be submitted in (approx.) week 20.

If a student fails to successfully complete the minor in the period in which she took the minor it is possible to finalize the minor in a following period in which the minor is given.

If a minor is no longer offered or in case the minor is rewritten, the degree programme will offer students a further two opportunities to finalize this minor in the following year.

Questions about the minor?
Contact Rebecca Breuer, r.l.a.breuer@hva.nl
 
Questions about the Kies op Maat procedure?
Contact Eunice Williams, resultsandregistration-amfi@hva.nl

Note: The registration period for HvA students is prior to the registration period for non-HvA students. This may mean that the minor is already full before the start of the Kies op Maat registration period.

Applications will be processed in the order of receipt of signed learning agreements.