Week 6: Textiles

Feb. 21 and 23.

Textiles are “stuff”, so much so that in Dutch (my native tongue), the words for “stuff, material” and “fabric” are the same word “stof”. It’s all around us (literally, at least most of the time), and often we don’t even think about it.

This week, I’d like you to stop and think about the clothes you wear on a daily basis, and maybe the clothes you have for special occasions, so that you can think more deeply about the role textiles played in traditional China. Our main focus remains with Tang China, but we will also take a look at fabrics and clothes from other periods.

Table of Contents

Slides

Readings and class details

Tuesday

Meeting in Ettinger 212, 3.30PM

  • View: these slides in advance of class. Videos embedded of yarn creation process so make some time (±1hr) –> this is your main “reading prep” for the week!
  • Task: Bring a piece of clothing you don’t mind other people handling in class (e.g. a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, a sweatshirt, a dress shirt or blouse, a pair of socks) –– we will investigate its construction, techniques, style, material etc. (We will not wear it.)
    • Do us all a favor and make sure it’s washed 😬
  • Reading: Xue, Meng Melanie. Cotton Textile Production in Medieval China Unravelled the Patriarchy, Aeon, June 27, 2018. https://aeon.co/ideas/cotton-textile-production-in-medieval-china-unravelled-patriarchy

Thursday

Meeting in Ettinger 212, 3.30PM

  • Sheng, Angela. “Determining the Value of Textiles in the Tang Dynasty: In Memory of Professor Denis Twitchett (1925-2006)”. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Third Series, 23, no. 2 (2013): 175-95. (PDF via Trexler library)
    • Note that this is from a special issue in this journal series, with the title Textiles as Money on the Silk Roads. If you are interested in textiles, money or the “Silk Roads” (i.e. Eurasian trade networks, there is a wealth of other scholarship waiting for you there.
    • Questions to consider: What precisely do you learn about textiles? What knowledge do you lack, or what technical terms did you have to look up, to understand the article? (You can ask for assistance in our Discord chat channel.) How could silk function as money? What implications does that have for the study of textiles?

Assignments

1. Reminder Blog post (content week 5)

5 points, due Sun. Feb. 13, 11:59PM

Write a blog post exploring themes or ideas based on your reading. You do not need to have all the answers. In fact, learning to ask good analytical or research questions is a skill you can develop during the semester. Remember the description of the assignment from the syllabus.

  • Length: approx. 400 words. excl. list of materials consulted.
  • Add the list of materials consulted at the end of the post, in Chicago notes and bibliography style.
    • TOP TIP: Just copy the bibliography information from the Reading list on last week’s webpage, do not add the descriptive notes I provide for your information.
  • Add the words “Week 5” in the title.
    • Please use this exact phrase, so your post will show up in the blog stream.
  • Indicate which Exploration Pack you chose.
  • Include a relevant image, and add a caption with the source/credit, and an Alt text description
  • Post on your website, and add to the category hst137.

When you’re done, read this declaration carefully and then fill out the Canvas quiz to collect your points.

Declaration
– I wrote a post of approximately 400 words in response to the readings.
– I included the bibliographic references for the materials I used for my post.
– I indicated which Exploration Pack I chose.
– I included an image, and I provided a caption and credit (source), and an Alt text description for the image.
– I use the words Week 5 in the title, and added the post to category hst137

2. First Reflection

8 points, due Tue Feb. 21, 11:59pm

Find all the details on the dedicated webpage (this helps me to keep the weekly schedule a bit more clutter-free).

3. Feedback with Hypothes.is

3 points, due Feb. 21

Below you find links to three blog posts from your fellow students. If one of the websites is your own, or it is twice the same person’s, refresh the page, and you should get new sites. This week I also include the Final Project Pitch posts – please provide feedback when you see these, so your colleagues know how to make their project absolutely awesome, as I am sure you will also appreciate getting feedback on your pitch.

  • Post 1:
  • Post 2:
  • Post 3:

Leave feedback, questions, thoughts, insights about the contents of the posts of your fellow students using Hypothes.is group HST137. You can ask for clarifications, point out similarities and differences with the material you covered, or with your interpretation. This should encourage you to nose around in the other materials you did not read originally, too.

Use tags in Hypothes.is: question: If you have a question (obvious); answered: if you gave an answer to a question; info: if you provide more information, looking up additional facts, drawing on knowledge from other classes; and other tags you can think of. This will help us to navigate more quickly to the questions that still need answering.

Use the “Architect’s Model” of giving feedback, and engage with concrete issues. Go beyond “Yeah, I agree,” “I like” or “I think the same”, and instead explain why you have that reaction, or if you disagree, you can try to persuade the original poster of your idea or interpretation.

Remember that Hypothes.is allows for hyperlinks, e.g. to materials that support your argument, or you can include pictures (memes! [yes, there she is again]), videos etc. that help the original poster to learn more.

When you’re done, read this declaration carefully, and then fill out the Canvas quiz to collect your points.

Declaration
– I commented on three fellow students’ weekly blog post on Week 4 materials, using the Hypothes.is group HST137.
– I made sure to leave substantial comments that help the writer to improve the post, or to identify their strengths.
– I left comments that I would like to receive myself: thoughtful, helpful, kind, but also pointing out errors so they can be fixed.

4. Blog post (content week 6)

5 points, due Sun. Feb. 24, 11:59PM

Write a blog post exploring themes or ideas based on your reading. You do not need to have all the answers. In fact, learning to ask good analytical or research questions is a skill you can develop during the semester. Remember the description of the assignment from the syllabus.

  • Length: approx. 400 words. excl. list of materials consulted.
  • Add the list of materials consulted at the end of the post, in Chicago notes and bibliography style.
    • TOP TIP: Just copy the bibliography information from the Reading list on this webpage, do not add the descriptive notes I provide for your information.
  • Add the words “Week 6” in the title.
    • Please use this exact phrase, so your post will show up in the blog stream.
  • Indicate which Exploration Pack you chose.
  • Include a relevant image, and add a caption with the source/credit, and an Alt text description
  • Post on your website, and add to the category hst137.

When you’re done, read this declaration carefully and then fill out the Canvas quiz to collect your points.

Declaration
– I wrote a post of approximately 400 words in response to the readings.
– I included the bibliographic references for the materials I used for my post.
– I indicated which Exploration Pack I chose.
– I included an image, and I provided a caption and credit (source), and an Alt text description for the image.
– I use the words Week 6 in the title, and added the post to category hst137

Extra Credit exercise

EC6-1. Extra commenting

2 points, due by Sunday, Feb. 26, 11.59pm

Do you like reading your colleagues’ work? Do you like helping them out by identifying ways to make their posts better? Here’s some good news! You can earn extra credit by doing extra commenting! This assignment will be available regularly throughout the semester.

  • Go to the Blog Stream of the Class
  • Pick a post that piques your curiosity and that you have not yet commented on
  • Use Hypothes.is group HST137, and leave feedback as we practiced with the Architects’s model
  • Pick 2 other posts: they can come from other students in the blog stream, or if you like the writer, you can stay with them and comment more.
  • The only conditions are
    • that you do not comment on blog posts you already commented on before, as part of your regular weekly “sourdough starter” tasks.
    • that the post is actually written for HST137, and not some other class. Check the category, and the content :upside down smiley:
  • Add the tag extra to the comment (this helps me to keep track of how many people use this option.)

When you’re done, please read this declaration carefully and then collect your points on Canvas with the Declaration Quiz.

Declaration
I selected three blogs I have not yet commented on before, from our class’ blog stream, and I used the Hypothes.is group HST137.
I made sure to leave substantial comments that help the writer to improve the post, or to identify their strengths.
I added the tag extra to my Hypothes.is comments.
I left comments that I would like to receive myself: thoughtful, helpful, kind, but also pointing out errors so they can be fixed.

EC6-2: (Creative Commons) Image Search

3 points, due by Sunday, Feb. 26, 11.59pm.

Find all the details for this exercise on how to find images in the Public Domain or licensed to use free of copy-right, on this dedicated webpage. You will also find the link to the declaration quiz there.

Where to get assistance?

  • Tea Room on Discord:
    • open anytime for you
    • I will be hosting Tue 2PM-3PM; Wed. 1-2PM, or at other times by appointment via Google Calendar (usually a 15-20min appointment is enough). You can also find me in my office during Tea Room times.
    • Private room for confidential chat available on request.
  • Discord Text Channel #hst137
  • DLAs: Digital Learning Assistants: check the schedule!
  • Writing Center: Sunday – Wednesday 3:30 – 5:30 & 7 – 11 PM; Thursday 3:30 – 5:30 PM &  7 – 9 PM
  • Trexler Library Course Subject Guide: our own dedicated subject guide for the course 
  • Safety on/around campus: report an incident