Textiles in a Global World: An Interdisciplinary Conversation
Few forms of human behavior are more pervasive than the production and use of textiles. They help navigate the course of empires, organize the work of men and women, inspire the world of fashion and design, shape social performances and spiritual rituals, encourage investments in science and technology, determine farm strategies, and knit together the politics of sweatshops and sustainability. Textiles are hidden in plain sight because they are so common. This symposium on October 1, 2010 considered the role that textiles have played in human culture, with an emphasis on the themes of art, history, science and sustainability. The goal was to foster interdisciplinary conversations and identify the ways in which people and their things intertwine, often with unintended consequences.