“I Should Probably Know More:” Reasons for and Roadblocks to the Use of Historic University Collections in Teaching

Abstract

The 19 th century witnessed the emergence of university and art museums in Europe and the United States. Collections within these museums were often started through personal objects or bequests for the improvement of the university and its constituents, serving an important part of the research and teaching mission of these institutions (Boylan 1999). The collections, or groups of objects stored in one location, often focused on a particular subject, such as fine art, botany, zoology, etc. Or in the case of the Courtland Institute of Art of the University of London, a collection of textiles and French Impressionist works donated by textile industrialist Samuel Courtauld (Boylan 1999). Today, academic collections of historic dress and textiles can range from small groups of objects to multiple collections housed and exhibited in world-renowned institutions such as the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles (Welters and Ordoñez 2011). The use of objects from collections of dress and textiles can make subjects such as dress history come to life. As stated by Riello (2011: 1): 'At an analytical level, the study of fashion and the history of fashion in particular, includes both abstract concepts and material objects'. It is the critical reflection on the material culture object that is a pivotal element in the repertoire of skills for industry professionals (Ryan and Brough 2012). As Sauro (2009: 1939) noted, the study of real garments was often considered ' essential' when teaching techniques and construction to apparel students. Even with the plethora of online and digitized images of historic textiles and clothing, the material object provides a tactile example that deepens the knowledge base contributing to more complex scholarly interpretation (Riello 2011). Indeed, previous scholars have found that examining historic textiles and clothing provides students with experiential learning opportunities to increase their creativity, enhance their understanding of fashion history, and provide connections between coursework in dress history and apparel design (Gam and Banning 2012). Historic dress and textile collections serve as valuable resources that help support the teaching, research, and outreach mission of many colleges and universities (Welters and Ordoñez 2011). Additionally, collections can be used as a fundraising tool for private donors. Managing these collections is a challenge however, particularly due to lack of time, money, and expertise. As such, in their seminal monograph Welters and Ordoñez provided ten guidelines to aid managers and administrators of such collections in the areas of mission, staff, organizational system, storage, policies for accessioning, deaccessioning, loaning objects, classroom use, exhibition, emergency response and recovery, and documentation of a collection's value to the university. Despite the amount of work and resources necessary for the proper functioning of historic textile collections and museums, the close examination of clothing can enrich underst...

Object‐based Learning in a World Dress Course

“…While previous researchers have identified OBL as an ideal teaching strategy to engage students in the learning process, the authors were unable to find a previous study that had documented student perceptions of OBL at the university level. Marcketti and Gordon (2019) encouraged the documentation of ways museum collections benefit students and specifically, “the collection of student feedback regarding the benefits of the collection in students' own words” (p. 9). The purpose of this study was to identify how OBL assignments using items from a university historic costume collection helped university students in a semester general education world dress course learn about unfamiliar items of dress.…”

“…Within the apparel and textiles classroom, OBL has been evidenced as artifact analysis. Artifact analysis has been an important research tool in the field for more than a century, in large part because, “the close examination of clothing can enrich understanding of society” (Marcketti & Gordon, 2019, p. 1). Thorough overviews of major artifact analysis methods and key practitioners have been detailed in recent publications (e.g., Marcketti & Gordon, 2019; Mida & Kim, 2015).…”

“…Artifact analysis has been an important research tool in the field for more than a century, in large part because, “the close examination of clothing can enrich understanding of society” (Marcketti & Gordon, 2019, p. 1). Thorough overviews of major artifact analysis methods and key practitioners have been detailed in recent publications (e.g., Marcketti & Gordon, 2019; Mida & Kim, 2015). Regardless of which artifact analysis method is used to research an item of dress, a systematic approach is applied that records a detailed description of all aspects of the item, appraisal of overall condition, comparison to similar objects of a period, and interpretation of its relevance today.…”

“…Seeing an actual artifact can provide depth to the learning experience for students. Touching a garment and analyzing it visually reinforces what is being taught in class (Marcketti & Gordon, 2019).…”

“…Appropriate sources may be in different buildings or parts of a community. Even for instructors fortunate to have collections in their own departments, coordinating access with appropriate collection or museum staff can prove problematic (Marcketti & Gordon, 2019).…”