Affirming Identity and Voice
Class, Gender and Cultural Nationalism in Commercial Art in Early Postcolonial India
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Anisha Datta
Through a critical reading of a number of primary sources, the paper aims to demonstrate how the historically constituted social and political agendas were reflected in the discursive practice of commercial art in early postcolonial India. In particular, the paper will examine how factors such as social class, gender and cultural nationalism impact commercial art to render it sociologically significant.
Made in Italy: Articulation of National Identity through Prism of Vogue Italia Magazine
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Daria Müller Velasquez
"Made in Italy" is a phenomenon mainly researched in sociology, economics and cultural studies. The current research is based on fashion studies, where creativity has always played the major role. The paper looks at the concept of "Made in Italy" in the formation of Italian fashion and the role of the concept in the building of national identity. The paper reflects on the ideas of articulation of national identity through the prism of Vogue Italia fashion magazine. In order to understand how the phenomenon of "Made in Italy" can be characterized today the study is aimed at collecting relevant data and explaining how the Italian style has been translated over the years and exported beyond the spatial confines of the nation. Besides, the paper sheds light on how creativity helped the Vogue Italia magazine to explore the market and to become one of the most recognizable fashion magazines in the world. The empirical base of the research begins with the very first Vogue Italia issue, launched in 1965, then goes through analyzing the essential issues, released in 1988 and 2008, and finally leads us to the deep understanding of the recent issues of 2018. The paper suggests the three-C theory that is based on the three variables, such as clothes, color and context. Specific creative elements and their adaptation to the Italian market are being identified both qualitatively and quantitatively with the purpose to highlight the dominant characteristics of the "Made in Italy" phenomenon in fashion industry.
Story+Telling: The Actor, the Engineer and the Redefinition of the Arts at a Polytechnic Institution
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Josh Machamer
If an artist falls at a polytechnic university and no one is around to hear it, does he or she make a sound? How can the arts interact within a polytechnic university model? In particular, what is the difference between the role that the arts currently play within this system, and the way in which that role can and should be changed? While centered firmly in the ethos of liberal arts and its labeled identity as a “service entity” toward the professional, vocationally orientated subject matters, this paper will begin to unpack and explore the ways in which an artistic identity (theatre in tandem with media and other expressive forms) can be reaffirmed, developed, and more appropriately redefined within the given technological/business centered institutions. Harkening back to the battle cry of the 1930’s, this will be an exploration in how once again the “arts” can again find itself as a useful “weapon” in the 21st century to wield in equitable collaboration with the pedagogical forces of business, technology, and science.
