RCS 327The Body, Dress, and Religion

From clothing to hairstyles to tattoos, how we dress can express beliefs, aspects of identity, and power. This course examines dress in a variety of religions from ancient Greece to the modern era. The course includes attention to the look and feel of dress on the body, conflicts that can arise over dress and religion, as well as the role of dress in the formation and maintenance of religious communities. Through reading, discussion, writing, and research on a topic of their choice, students will explore the diversity of ways in which dress is vitally important to both ancient and modern cultures.