Jiggle:(re) shaping American women

2016

For the past few decades, feminist researchers have worked tirelessly to recover the history of American women's sewingboth the artifacts made and the processes, practices, and identities linked to the objects produced. With the transition to the digital age, women are still sewing, but they are inventing, making, and distributing sewn objects using platforms and pathways online to share knowledge, showcase their handicrafts, and sell their wares. This dissertation examines contemporary sewing and asks how digital practices are extending and transforming the history of women's sewing in America. I place my findings against the backdrop of women's history by recounting how and why women sewed in previous eras. This dissertation demonstrates how past sewing practices are being repeated, remixed, and reimagined as women meet to sew, socialize, and collaborate on the web. Jordan, and Vanessa, thank you for sending emails and meeting a random internet girl for dinner or coffee. I am so thankful we became "real life" friends. Your wisdom, encouragement, and love have changed who I am. And to my committee, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Betty, your oversight on this project was invaluable. You gave me space to do my own thing as a scholar, as well as guidance and expertise to point me in the right direction. Maureen, you knew my dissertation would be about sewing long before I did. Thank you for showing me that women's material practices are rhetorically meaningful, and for teaching me about empirical research methods when I was literature student voyaging into the rhet/comp world. And, Trish, thank you for taking on my project in the final hour. I will never forget walking into your office (a slightly frazzled mom with hair still wet from my morning shower) and asking for your help. You were gracious, kind, and supportive, and I will be forever grateful. And Alice, thank you for encouraging me to pursue the study of digital spaces. Your class not only caused me to change my discipline, but it also convinced me to finally join Twitter. Both were life changing choices if you ask me. Lord, thank you for calling me to graduate school. The past six years have held so many trials and so much goodness. You have sustained me through it allthrough the newlywed years, through hundreds of hours in class and thousands of pages of reading, through two pregnancies and the hard yet meaningful work of motherhood, through taking my exams and writing my dissertation. You are a good Father. Please use my work, my degree, and my knowledge for your glory. Thank you, Jesus, that your grace covers me. You hold the universe in your hand, yet you love me enough to write this story for my life. You are forever worthy of my devotion. v

In my love for early American history, I decided to challenge myself to study the two heroines (JMO), Sybil Ludington and Deborah Samson, whose stories need to be taught and recognized.

Historical studies in education, 2015

for Women is a much-welcomed addition to the history of women in education. Amy Sue Bix is an Associate Professor of History at Iowa State University. For well over a decade, Bix has published frequently on the topic of gender and technology. Bix now brings to the body of literature on the history of women in education a sense of the lived impact of exclusion and the determination required of the individual women who demanded change. Girls Coming to Tech! is representative of the author's expertise and talent. The book covers the late nineteenth and most of the twentieth centuries, using three case studies: Georgia Tech, Caltech, and MIT. Bix explains that in each of these institutional case studies, she intends to "examine the issues and tensions…through the voices of numerous female engineering students and those who interacted with them within certain historical contexts" (1). Girls Coming to Tech achieves this goal admirably. Chapter 1 provides historical background, exploring the many initial instances in which women managed to infiltrate engineering programs. These isolated examples represented the exceptions to the tradition of excluding women. Women's "invasion" of engineering education programs from the late 1870s to the late 1930s elicited a range of responses, from mere annoyances for the women to acts of violence. Bix presents Georgia Tech, Caltech, and MIT as contrasting examples that highlight the importance of institutional climate. The key factors in male responses to female incursions were institutional history and character, geographical context and era, and the political and personal inclinations of key figures in college leadership, including students, alumni, professors, administrators, and the general public. Bix uses the interactions among these features to articulate the meaning of women's experiences in brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by Historical Studies in Education / Revue d'histoire de...

2012

This is a work in progress on the evolution House Pages' style of dress, inspired by the House Collection's recent acquisition of an unusual 1906 uniform. A long standing tradition, Pages served in Congress beginning in the early 19th century. The House has recently discontinued its Page program, which had, over the years, evolved from 9 year old boys carrying letters around the Capitol to a shortterm boarding school for high school juniors, with students working shifts on the House floor seeing to the needs of the Representatives. This research deals primarily with object based evidence, following a material culture methodology. Following Jules Prown's benchmark work on material culture, Art as Evidence, this approach to historic objects defines material culture as a "study. .. based on the obvious fact that the existence of a manmade object is concrete evidence of the presence of human intelligence operating at the time of fabrication. The underlying premise is that objects made or modified by man reflect, consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, the beliefs of the individuals who made, commissioned, purchased, or used them, and by extension the beliefs of the larger society to which they belonged." 1

Dress, 2023

The Costume Society of America (CSA) Scholars' Roundtable Honor recognizes scholars who exemplify high standards in dress scholarship. At the annual symposium they choose, present, and lead a discussion on a complex or potentially contentious topic so as to stimulate new thinking on the study of dress. This paper records the Scholars' Roundtable at the CSA symposium held in Minneapolis

2007

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TSA Proceedings, 2014

Furthering the understanding of mankind's creative achievements in the textile arts has been the guiding principle of The Textile Museum for almost a century. The Museum accomplishes this through development and maintenance of textile collections and a research library, through object study and documentation, as well as through scholarly research, exhibitions, publications and educational programs. The Textile Museum's new affiliation with George Washington University is a watershed moment that provides opportunities to disseminate textile knowledge through higher education.

Art libraries journal, 2017

(FIT)-SUNY Gladys Marcus Library's exquisite, rare, primary research materials are housed in its unit of Special Collections and College Archives; as such, it is known to those who study fashion and other creative industries throughout the world. Like the unit's name, its mission is twofold: regarding special collections, it acquires, preserves, and provides access to a wide range of primary research materials in their original formats and across many languages and geographical spectra. All acquisitions support one or more curricula offered at FIT. Regarding the college archives, the unit acquires, preserves, and provides access to college records permanently-scheduled for retention, or deemed to have enduring, historical value, created or received in the course of college business; archival records are created or received by administrators, staff, faculty, and students. Fulfilling this mission supports myriad goals in and across FIT units as well as research from those outside the FIT community. This writer will introduce the collections to readers and briefly discuss the large-scale renovation that the unit is currently undergoing .

News in Conservation, 2020

The Medieval Girdle Book by Margit J. Smith is an exploration of a rare type of book construction. With 26 remaining known examples, the girdle book is an item worthy of a comprehensive look. A girdle book is an unusual form with an extension which is tucked into a girdle (the medieval word for belt) and worn as an accessory. Its form has been the intrigue of those studying book structures as well as scholars of medieval times. In our modern world filled with various e-readers and new reading tech, from the curious neophyte to the seasoned bibliophile, it is worth a venture into the first format that brought literary mobility to the forefront. Smith immerses the reader in the context and keen details of the girdle book. The book begins with an encompassing introduction, defining precisely what a girdle book is and what it is not; there are related items that may seem like girdle books, but are not, and Smith briefly discusses why the latter are not considered. This particular aspect of her book provides appreciation for those other items with their differences and associations. Smith goes on to describe the historical and social uses of the girdle book, including its extensive use in medieval art. Some of the most useful pages are those containing tables that summarize key information such as primary and secondary covers, date, location, printed versus manuscript variations, etc. These tables make the information easy to access for future reference. The author organized the subsequent chapters by grouping the girdle books by topic and by including an extra section for suspected girdle books. Every chapter then has a section focused on each girdle book individually. Each book's description is broken into four subsections which discuss the background, material biography, and any oddities. For the suspected girdle books, there are also shorter versions of these subsections. The meticulous level of detail provides an accessibility to the books for those who cannot see them in person. Throughout the publication there are a plethora of color photographs enhancing the text, which is perhaps one of the best attributes of the book. Margit J. Smith is a well-established bookbinder with over forty years of experience. She has written multiple articles, including several on girdle books, and she now provides her followers with this, her first book. Smith's direct knowledge of and interest in this book form is displayed in her use of the girdle book models she made during a Montefiascone Conservation Project short course on book history. She uses these models to assist in introducing main aspects of the girdle book structure. This craft knowledge adds a nuanced tone to the text throughout the book. The book is approachable for the casual bibliophile and well suited for researchers and experienced conservators. It fills a much-needed gap in publications on the subject, especially in English. Smith’s extensive research is evident in her reference list, which is itself a highlight of the book, especially for anyone looking to further their own knowledge. One of the weaker points of the book is the lack of consistency between the photographs. I would have found it more helpful to see the same shots taken of each book in order to better perform comparisons. However, I realize this may not have been possible, and the number of photographs included is already greatly appreciated. I would also have appreciated a more predictable structure within the text when presenting some of the information. For example, object dimensions could have always been presented first within a section; organizational changes such as this would have made the publication easier to use as a reference book. This is a preference likely due to my background in reading conservation reports in which this consistency is common. Smith has meticulously included dimensions for the books—and for many other aspects of these objects—which makes this a minor suggestion compared to all that Smith has already provided. My personal experience with this book came from my time as a conservation student while earning my MA at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation. As part of my course study, I was required to reproduce a historic binding. I chose the girdle book, though I had never seen one in person, neither historic nor newly made. I was fortunate enough to be conducting my project research post-publication of Smith’s book, which became my main source of information. I highly recommend this book for its wealth of information; a single read-through will not be enough. It is a favorite upon my bookshelves, well-referenced and well-loved. AUTHOR BYLINE Leah Humenuck is book conservator currently based in Pennsylvania, USA. She has a BS in chemistry and attended West Dean College of Arts and Conservation, England, for her MA in conservation. Her interests include verdigris treatments, album structures, and practical applications of photographic techniques such as false-color infrared. (Original article can be read in the February-March 2020 "News in Conservation" Issue 76, p. 42-43) Home Page Intro: My personal experience with this book came from my time as a conservation student while earning my MA at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation. As part of my course study, I was required to reproduce a historic binding. I chose the girdle book, though I had never seen one in person, neither historic nor newly made. I was fortunate enough to be conducting my project research post-publication of Smith’s book, which became my main source of information. I highly recommend this book for its wealth of information; a single read-through will not be enough. It is a favorite upon my bookshelves, well-referenced and well-loved.