PART 1 (40 points): A required essay on a topic synthesizing material from the entire semester. In your answer, you must discuss three authors or examples chosen from the list provided, at least one of which must be from before the midterm and one after.

PART 2: (one essay, 40 points): The essay questions in this section will focus on the second half of the course. You must write on one of the questions provided. Your essay must include discussion of two authors. For Part 2, you are free to choose any two authors relevant to your argument, but some suggestions will be provided to guide you.

PART 3 (20 points): Identify 5 out of 8 terms chosen from the list posted to the website. For each term, explain what it means and where it comes from (1.5 points) and why it is significant in the context of the themes covered in class (2.5 points).

Note 1: Your essays in Part 1 and Part 2 may not repeat examples. While you may, for example, discuss Hansen's analysis of the colonial politics of dress in one essay and her views on structural adjustment and salaula in another, you cannot describe her views on colonial dress in both essays. If you repeat material, points will be deducted from your essay grade.

Note 2: In the questions below, authors separated by a slash will count as just one example; you can discuss one or more of those authors, but, either way, that counts as just one of your examples.

The following is a selection of final exam review questions, some of which have appeared on past exams. In thinking through possible answers for these questions in preparation for the final exam, pay particular attention to formulating a clear, interesting, and arguable thesis statement. For more information about thesis statements, see the guidelines for response papers. Please keep in mind that, just as with response papers, the most compelling arguments evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, or significance of the evidence or logic of the authors cited as the means for developing and supporting your own interpretation. One of these questions may very well appear on the exam exactly as it is phrased here or in slightly revised form.

ESSAY QUESTIONS FOR PART 1 (broad, synthesizing essay): choose three authors from the list provided, at least one of which must be from List A and one of which must be from List B. Please be sure that you choose different authors for your essay in Part 2.

1. Can fashion or style be used as a form of resistance? With what consequences? Discuss with reference to THREE of the following authors, at least one from list A and one from List B:
List A: Fiske/Friedan/Nava/Bordo/Wilson, Hebdige, Veblen, Bourdieu, Woodward/Pham
List B: Lewis/Jones, Hansen, Kondo/Tu, Tarlo, Luvaas/Wilkinson-Weber/Mizrahi/Ege

2. One of the advantages of fashion is that it allows us to convey characteristics of ourselves to others--like our social class, ethnicity, gender, or purchasing power ("pecuniary status"). Yet this quality of fashion can also cause problems, because fashion is interpreted or assigned meanings different from the message or meaning intended by the wearer or because those meanings play a role in reproducing hierarchy and marginalization. Discuss with reference to THREE of the following authors, at least one from list A and one from List B:
List A: Fiske/Friedan/Nava/Bordo/Wilson, Hebdige/Barthes/McCracken, Veblen, Bourdieu, Woodward/Pham
List B: Lewis/Jones, Hansen, Said/Kondo/Leshkowich and Jones/Tu, Tarlo, Luvaas/Wilkinson-Weber/Mizrahi/Ege

3. Throughout the semester, we've seen clothing described as either a language or as having agency. Picking one of these terms (agency or language), analyze the possibilities and limitations to viewing clothing as a language or an agent. Discuss with reference to THREE of the following authors, at least one from list A and one from List B:
List A: Hebdige/Barthes/McCracken, Veblen, Bourdieu, Woodward/Pham
List B: Lewis/Jones, Hansen, Kondo/Leshkowich and Jones/Tu, Tarlo, Luvaas/Wilkinson-Weber/Mizrahi/Ege

4. Is fashion a means for fitting into a social, cultural, or political order, a means to resist norms and expectations, or both? What are the effects of these attempts to fit in or to resist? What are the advantages or disadvantages of using fashion in these ways? (Hint: Issues to consider in developing your analysis might include agency, constraint, intentionality, performance, and interpretation.) Discuss with reference to THREE of the following authors, at least one from list A and one from List B:
List A: Fiske/Friedan/Nava/Bordo/Wilson, Hebdige/Barthes, Veblen, Bourdieu, Woodward/Pham
List B: Lewis/Jones, Hansen, Kondo/Leshkowich and Jones/Tu, Tarlo, Luvaas/Wilkinson-Weber/Mizrahi/Ege

ESSAY QUESTIONS FOR PART 2

1. How has Orientalism shaped the encounter between Europe/North America and Asia/Middle East, both during the colonial era and contemporary globalization? What role has fashion played in this encounter? Have Asians been able to use fashion to combat Orientalism? Why or why not?
Discuss with reference to TWO authors. Suggested authors are: Tarlo, Kondo, Said, Lewis, Jones, Tu, Leshkowich and Jones.

2. This semester, gender has played a large part in our discussions of fashion and consumption, but it has frequently been intertwined with other issues, such as ethnicity, race, class, or religion. How does the study of dress allow us to examine the relationship between gender and one of these other factors?
Discuss with reference to TWO authors. Suggested authors are: Lewis, Tarlo, Hansen, Said, Kondo, Leshkowich and Jones, Luvaas/Wilkinson-Weber/Ege/Mizrahi.

3. How has globalization affected dress practices in different parts of the world? What are the stakes and meanings involved in globalized dress practices, and what consequences does dress have? Discuss with reference to TWO authors. Suggested authors are: Lewis, Tarlo, Hansen, Kondo, Leshkowich and Jones, Tu, Luvaas/Wilkinson-Weber/Mizrahi/Ege.

4. We began this semester by considering how fashion is sometimes understood as particular to Western Europe and North America. How might two authors we've studied respond to this statement? How, in your view, should their answers lead us to understand what fashion is and what key dynamics it entails? Discuss with reference to TWO authors. Suggested authors are: Lewis/Jones, Tarlo, Hansen, Kondo, Leshkowich and Jones, Tu, Luvaas/Wilkinson-Weber/Mizrahi/Ege.

5. "Fashion involves two forms of labor: the creative work of design and the manual work of sewing." How might two authors we've read respond to this statement? What different notions of value and work (including work involving consumption and taste) might they emphasize, and with what significance? Discuss with reference to TWO authors. Suggested authors are: Pham (9/11 or superbloggers)/Moon/Woodward, Lewis/Jones, Tarlo, Hansen, Kondo, Leshkowich and Jones, Tu, Luvaas/Wilkinson-Weber/Mizrahi/Ege.

For more information, contact:  aleshkow@holycross.edu