Dress and Cultural Difference in Early Modern Europe

Anglický jazyk

Dress and Cultural Difference in Early Modern Europe

Vydavateľstvo: De Gruyter
Rok vydania: 2024
Formát: Paperback
Rozmer: 230 x 155 mm
Jazyk: Anglický jazyk
ISBN: 9783110632040

Na objednávku, dodanie 2-4 týždne

49.46 €

bežná cena: 54.95 €

O knihe

Dress constitutes one of the most obvious and indeed most visual and visible markers of difference. Being very close to the body it becomes part of the daily habitus and an unavoidable means of communication with others. Dress tells stories about belongings and identities, but also about exclusion and stigmatization. It allows for the display of wealth and can mercilessly display poverty and indigence. Dress also allows playing with identities and belongings, individuals can claim higher social status via their clothes; dress is open to manipulation by the wearer and misinterpretation by the observer. In this potential muddle, early modern authorities, religious and secular, local and regional, aimed at putting order to this early modern world, which became increasingly complex. Its social composition diversified with the emergence of new social groups and increasing migration and travel. Moreover, intensified long-distance trade and technological developments new fashionable cloth and accessories entered the market. With the beginning of consumer culture, more people from social classes were able to afford those items.

Despite a variety of research in the field, a strong compartmentalization can still be felt. Many works deal with specific political territories or certain cities. Modern national boundaries still dominate much of the research, while comparative works or transcultural approaches remain the exception. In this volume, we want to cross these boundaries, follow transcultural perspectives and highlight the multiplicity of differences that are expressed via clothes. In doing so, we also take up more recent approaches from cultural history like the interest in "symbolic communication," the creation of vestimentary codes, and the making and visualization of social, cultural, religious, or geographic difference.