Art and Design Commons^™

Education For Sustainable Development Competencies In A Community-Engaged Art Workshop, Amy J. Schmierbach

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

Arts participation can expand empathy and cognitive growth capacity while creating a social bond and communal meaning (McCarthy et al., 2004). As an art instructor for over twenty years, I have witnessed the bonds that can be created through collaborative art experiences. These bonds are nurtured from a space of equity and inclusion. Teaching a community-engaged art course can bring these qualities into the community, allowing university students to use their art skills in real-world applications to impact society through experiential learning art practices. Making art with others will enable us to help others build empathy and social bonds that …

Craftivism As Inquiry: Holding Life’S Threads, Chloe Watfern, Gaynor Macdonald, Michele Elliot, Lynne Stone, Imelda Gilmore, Manuel Tecson, Najla Turk, Penny Bingham, Jane Mears, Ann Dadich, Barbara Doran, Katherine Boydell, Sarah Wallace

The Qualitative Report

In this article, we share insights regarding an arts-based research project where carers of people with dementia conveyed their experiences in cloth. Carers face high rates of mental ill health and burnout, while forming a largely undervalued and unrecognised workforce. Through this project, carers’ knowledge was valued and amplified using an innovative methodology – craftivism. During a series of five workshops in 2021, a small group of carers, researchers and artists gathered online to develop an exhibition of craftivist textile works. They evoked the complexity of their makers’ journeys supporting loved ones at the end of life, finding joy and …

Warp/Weft/Word: Inscriptive Materiality, Epistemological Violence, And The Inka Khipu, Travis Sharp

Criticism

Many competing theories of the Indigenous inscription practice known as the khipu have been offered, from L. Leland Locke’s long-standing postulation that khipus are accounting devices, to Walter Ong’s description of them as aide-mémoire, to Gary Urton’s more experimental theory that they constituted an early form of binary composition. Just as fraught is the history of the khipu, which were utilized by the Inka, intermediated by Spanish and Catholic authorities in their legal and religious systems, and, finally, banned and burned as seditious and sacrilegious. Contemporary khipus are primarily limited to those used by herders, but Chilean American poet-artist Cecilia …

Creating A 1940s Costume: A Historical Investigation, Jennifer Mott

The Confluence

The purpose of this Art History research investigation was to create a costume from the 1940s by immersing myself in a time period when people often made their own clothing. This was done to better understand what it means to have a personal connection to the items I wear. Our experiences as consumers in the twenty-first century are vastly different than those belonging to the people that lived during the mid-twentieth century because almost all of our clothing is purchased from corporations and created by people that we will likely never meet. For this investigative study, I shopped for and …

A Historical Overview And Description Of The University Of Kwazulu-Natal’S Ceremonial And Academic Attire, Andrew-John Bethke

Transactions of the Burgon Society

he University of KwaZulu-Natal was legally constituted in 2004 when the University of Natal was amalgamated with the University of Durban-Westville. In the early 2000s, the South African government sought to decrease the number of higher education institutions in the country from thirty-six to twenty-one through amalgamation. This article describes the process by which the current university developed its ceremonial and academic dress.

Peculiar And Proper Habits: The Use And Production Of Academic Dress In Colonial, Revolutionary, And Federal Philadelphia, Nicholas Heavens

Transactions of the Burgon Society

This is a study of the adoption and use of academic dress at the University of Pennsylvania and its predecessor institutions, the College of Philadelphia and University of the State of Pennsylvania from approximately 1750–1830. Despite early interest of the College’s founder, Benjamin Franklin, to use academic dress to monitor student activities outside college bounds, there was soon contentious debate between the institution’s founding senior academics about whether academic dress should be used at all. By sheer force of will of its leading proponent, academic dress came into use at public ceremonies. These public ceremonies became a model for public …

A Study Of The History And Use Of Lace On Academical Gowns In The United Kingdom And Ireland: Updates And Corrections, Charles Rupert Tsua

Transactions of the Burgon Society

This article is a supplement to my 2012 article in the Transactions. In the last few years research has answered some of the questions I raised in the original article, and has uncovered some ambiguities that may require further study. I shall follow a similar format to the original article, but list only the laces which need updating due to new information.

Coloured Velvet Is Too Gaudy: The 1861 Reforms To The Academical Costume Of The University Of London, Bruce Christianson

Transactions of the Burgon Society

The University of London’s original system of academic dress was adopted by the Senate in 1844, and made extensive use of velvet on both gowns and hoods. In 1861 London adopted a radically new system, which eliminated the use of velvet and which has (with various amendments and additions) remained recognizably in use to this day. This article tells the story of how the revision came about, by tracing its progress through the Minute Book of Convocation.

Bristol Blue: A Search For The Origins Of Academic Dress At The University Of Bristol, Paul Hayward

Transactions of the Burgon Society

This article gives the results of research into the origins of academic dress at the University of Bristol, and is principally concerned with the regulations surrounding that subject. As such, it does not look into the actual use of academic dress. For example, undergraduate gowns still form part of the official regulations, but they are not to be seen in the University today. This falls outside the scope of this research.

Erratum: The Lack Of A Theology Hood At The University Of The West Indies, Mitchell A. Nicholls

Transactions of the Burgon Society

In the printed edition of Volume 20, p. 162, Mitchell A. Nicholls’ article ‘The Lack of a Theology Hood at the University of the West Indies’ erred in spelling out the degree BCL. It is a Bachelor of Civil Law, not Canon Law. The error was corrected before the digital edition of Volume 20 was uploaded.

Editor’S Note, Stephen Wolgast

Transactions of the Burgon Society

No abstract provided.

The Curious Case Of A Women’S Academic Collar, Valentina S. Grub

Transactions of the Burgon Society

In mid-nineteenth century America, women’s seminaries were established as a counterpoint to men’s colleges. However, while their male counterparts immediately adopted various iterations of academic gowns, these seminaries struggled to formalize their own academic attire. One element of it was a ‘collar’ made of fine mesh and, most unusually, sectioned into panels by lengths of boning. The ends would have been drawn around the back of the neck and fastened by a row of tiny, cumbersome hooks and eyes. As an academic accessory, such a collar has hitherto been unknown to the academic dress academe. Moreover, it offers a scholarly …

Front Matter, Editorial Board

Transactions of the Burgon Society

No abstract provided.

Fossils In Silk: Historical Hoods Of Trinity College, Toronto, Colin Fleming

Transactions of the Burgon Society

The hoods used by Trinity College at the University of Toronto bear out to some extent what Groves and Christianson suggested, namely that ‘colonial universities initially borrowed their [academical dress] from the mother country, and particularly, in the case of British colonies, from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.’ The hoods we saw at the conference provide evidence that Trinity College may represent an archaeological record of Canadian interpretations (or adaptations) of historical UK usage. The robes of the College have been described in various catalogues and other publications from 1875 to the present, and these sources provided valuable clues …

The Invention Of Tradition: The Cambridge Benefactors’ Gowns, Simon Morris

Transactions of the Burgon Society

This article examines the emergence of a new phenomenon in academic dress that has developed over the past twenty years—the awarding of special gowns by some colleges of the University of Cambridge to recognize individual donors and reward their munificence. This appears to be predominantly—albeit not exclusively—a Cambridge phenomenon, and for reasons advanced below not replicated at Oxford University. This article considers in turn whether benefactors’ gowns qualify as academic dress, the reasons for their institution and the criteria for their design. It then looks at the two types of design that have been used, paying particular attention to the …

University Of Portsmouth Academic Dress, Philip Goff

Transactions of the Burgon Society

The University of Portsmouth has its origins in the Portsmouth and Gosport School of Science and Art (1870), the Portsmouth Municipal Technical Institute (1894) and Portsmouth Municipal College (1908), which replaced the earlier Institute. The College also took under its wing the College of Art, Portsmouth Day Training College for teachers and a public library.This article examines the development of academic dress at the University of Portsmouth.

History And Development Of University Doctoral Academical Dress In Aotearoa (New Zealand), Scott Pilkington

Transactions of the Burgon Society

In 2018 it was announced that Auckland University of Technology (AUT) would join the other seven universities in Aotearoa (New Zealand) in offering a higher doctorate qualification. As part of this process it became apparent that new academical dress would need to be designed and created. Working in the university’s Graduate Research School gave me an opportunity to provide input, and as a result, I designed a new set of academic dress for these qualifications in conjunction with the university’s official robemaker, Paul Fielder (FBS).

This provided a prompt to examine what academical dress exists for existing AUT doctorates – …

Black Lives Matter: Keep Your Eyes On The Prize (2021), Gregory T. Wilkins

The International Journal of Equity and Social Justice in Higher Education

The image is of a woman of African descent who is wearing a colorful headdress which cascades down one side of her head to her tattered sweater. One eye is blind. The other eye has a target over it with her eye looking to the side. The target represents the world looking at her, targeting/labeling her because of the color of her skin, and it also represents her looking out into the world focusing intently on the future. Her eye is looking to the side engaging the periphery; she is ready and fully aware of her surroundings. Pending on the …

Black Lives Matter: Hands Up, Don't Shoot (2021), Gregory T. Wilkins

The International Journal of Equity and Social Justice in Higher Education

The image is of a multi-colored background with crochet thread radiating across the canvas. White Fleece letters are quilted onto the canvas spelling out the words ‘Hands Up, Don't Shoot’

Clothing Autonomy, Audrée Wilhelmy

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

(Translated by Lucas Zabotin)

Colby Museum Of Art: Faith Ringgold “Story Quilt” Acquired, Bob Keyes

Colby Magazine

The Colby Museum of Art adds a coveted Faith Ringgold story quilt to its collection.

Fashsim Lab: Learning About Cotton From Field To Virtual Fashion, Kelly Cobb, Angela Beckett

Frameless

The global pandemic is clearly illuminating the value and even necessity of online education and remote learning for students around the world (IIIE, 2020.) Virtual modules engage students, substituting valuable learning experiences that are not possible to recreate due to constraints on time and/or materials, or physical meeting ability, demonstrated by the pivot due to COVID. In the virtual lab, students are able to work together, applying course concepts to new situations and contexts, as well as develop data analysis skills. Common in the sciences, this novel concept embeds state-of-the art learning into the textile and apparel curriculum. In the …

Using Creative Making To Redesign Life After Stroke, Jennifer K. Fortuna

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Kate Davies, a knitwear designer and author based in Scotland, provided the cover art for the Winter 2022 edition of the Open Journal of Occupational Therapy. “Balance for Better” is a blanket made from wool and mohair. The blanket consists of 30 individual squares designed and knitted by KDD & Co. employees. The colors and pattern of each square reflect the work, achievements, and legacy of the inspirational women celebrated in the blanket. At age 36, Kate suffered a near-fatal stroke that left her paralyzed on the left side of her body. Forced to give up her career as …

Can Textiles Improve Emotional Wellbeing?

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

“As a textile designer, I am very interested in challenging perceptions of what a textile can be,” says Kristen Tynan, whose master’s thesis, “Seeking Solace,” explored the creation of textiles that provide specific tactile benefits.

It’s known that tactile stimuli help calm negative emotional sensations. Thus, children may seek a favorite blanket or toy, and adults may use more reflexive, inconspicuous strategies like light foottapping or employ stress balls and fidget spinners. But those tools are primarily stand-alone objects marketed toward children or people with neurological challenges such as autism spectrum disorders.

Invasive Plants For Commercial Use

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Invasive plants can have an array of negative ecological effects. In Northeast deciduous forests, for example, invasive plants outcompete natives, disrupt soil nutrient cycling and spread disease that affects humans as well as other plants.

“Invasives are creating increasingly difficult problems across the United States,” says Anne Bower, PhD, professor of biology. “While there are some public and nonprofit efforts to address those problems, we also need to employ free market incentives to overcome this major ecological challenge.” Dr. Bower, Mary Ann Wagner-Graham, PhD, assistant professor of biology, and Becky Flax, MS, assistant professor of textile design, have been working …

Functional Fabrics: From Mining Oceans To Walking In Space

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Thomas Jefferson University traces its ancestry, in part, to the 1884 founding of the Philadelphia Textile School, the nation’s first center for textilefocused education. That institution continued to be a pioneer in textile science, technology and innovation for more than 130 years. Today, that legacy is visible in an array of nationally and globally recognized textile-related academic and research programs—notably including research, analysis and development of “functional fabrics” that serve a broadening range of purposes.

Jefferson is one of the few academic institutions possessing the full scope of expertise and technical facilities needed to reduce fundamental ideas to practice. As …

Rediscovering Hemp: New Materials, Manufactured Products And Therapeutics

Thomas Jefferson University Research Magazine

Through much of recorded history, the hemp plant was recognized as a sustainable, renewable resource with myriad practical applications. Its fibers are strong, resilient and possess unique chemical properties; its seeds and leaves are nutritious; and parts of the plant have medicinal benefits. However, for more than 50 years, its use in the United States was severely restricted by policymakers who equated all hemp products with just one: marijuana.

That situation has changed over the past decade. Today, most restrictions on hemp have been lifted, and states are legalizing marijuana and its byproducts for medicinal or recreational purposes. That evolution …

Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery (Sewing) Society: Handcraft As A Metaphorical Tool For The Abolitionist Cause, Hinda Mandell

Journal of Feminist Scholarship

In 1851, in Rochester, New York, a group of six women banded together as the founding members of an anti-slavery group in order to support the work of the abolitionist Frederick Douglass. They called themselves the Rochester Ladies’ Anti-Slavery (Sewing) Society, although they dropped “Sewing” from the group’s name in 1855. Yet the fact that “Sewing” was included in the original name of this reformist group indicates the foundational role of craft not only as a guiding activity but also central as an activist mechanism to abolish the institution of slavery. They were the benefactors of Frederick Douglass, himself regarded …

The Hoods Of The Three Senior Doctorates At Edinburgh, Nicholas Groves

Transactions of the Burgon Society

The article tracks changes to the hoods of Doctor of Divinity, Doctor of Laws, and Doctor of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh from various sources from 1843 to 1970 in a chart with illustrations.

In Memoriam: Robin L. D. Rees, Nicholas Groves

Transactions of the Burgon Society

Obituary of Robin L. D. Rees, 1946–2021. He was a Fellow of the Society and designed the hoods of the Institute of Physics and for the Archbishop’s Certificate in Church Music.