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Through a variety of archival documents, artefacts, illustrations, and references to primary and secondary literature, On the Job explores the changing styles, business practices, and lived experiences of the people who make, sell, and wear service-industry uniforms in the United States. It highlights how the uniform business is distinct from the fashion business, including how manufacturing developed outside of the typical fashion hubs such as New York City; and gives attention to the ways that various types of employers (small business, corporate, government and others) differ in their ambitions and regulations surrounding uniforms. On the Job sheds new light on an understudied yet important field of dress and clothing within everyday life, and is an essential addition to any fashion historian's library, appealing to all those interested in material culture, the service industry, heritage and history.

The universal act of dressing—shared by both men and women, young and old, rich and poor, minority and majority—has shaped human interactions, communicated hopes and fears about the future, and embodied what it means to be Somali. Heather Marie Akou mines politics and history in this rich and compelling study of Somali material culture. Akou explores the evolution of Somali folk dress, the role of the Somali government in imposing styles of dress, competing forms of Islamic dress, and changes in Somali fashion in the U.S. With the collapse of the Somali state, Somalis continue a connection with their homeland and community through what they wear every day.

Introduction: This semester-length class is designed as an introduction to the major religions in the world as well as numerous smaller religions. Most, but not all, engage the body as a site for experiencing and expressing faith. Some dress practices are temporary or occasional (Christian baptism), some are done daily (Sikh men wearing turbans), and some are permanent or expected to last for many years (getting a tattoo with Pagan imagery). Some styles of dress are freely chosen, while others are adopted under intense social pressure. Some are used only by select individuals (the ceremonial robes of orthodox priests), while others are expected for nearly all members of the group (such as the distinctive clothing and hairstyles worn by Amish community members). Although the first amendment to the US constitution guarantees religious freedom--ranging from atheism to highly visible religious practices--a small number of countries (notably Iran and Saudi Arabia) have made religious dress compulsory for citizens. Others, such as France, Belgium, and Turkey, have used the law to ban religious dress from public spaces. While the third-largest religious identity in the world is "no religion" (secular, agnostic, atheist), religion plays a very important part in the lives of many people, shaping their views about the world and what happens when they die, how they interact with other people, what they buy, and how they dress. Understanding the basics and being able to make comparisons between religions is important for being an effective global citizen. Exposure to a variety of primary and secondary sources on this controversial topic engages critical thinking skills.

Cloth has been a vital form of expression in West Africa for over 2,000 years. It serves as a visual record of historical events and reflects social change. It has changed the economies of West Africa (and its trading partners) even as its use has been shaped by those changes. It has served as a way to limit political power, and it has given a form of political expression to the common consumer. An examination of the way cloth has reflected and affected change in West Africa can lead to a more complete understanding of contemporary and future events.

Introduction: Among scholars who study dress and fashion, the rich diversity of African dress (along with the tremendous creativity of the people who make and wear it) is not well known. This lesson plan on African dress is designed for advanced undergraduates, postgraduate students, and scholars in fashion studies - to broaden the reader's knowledge of non-Western dress, but also to explore how African dress has influenced and been affected by Western fashion. These lessons can also be used with students in related disciplines such as art history, history, and anthropology, providing a focused exploration of material and visual culture in Africa.

Islam is the second-largest religion in the world with nearly 2 billion adherents. Having begun in what is now Saudi Arabia, the largest concentrations of Muslims live in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. There are also highly visible communities of Muslims throughout Europe and North America. While a small number of verses in the Qur'an enjoin both men and women to dress and behave modestly, it contains little guidance on how their clothing, accessories, and bodies should look; this allows for a wide variation in styles of dress. After decades of dress reform in the Middle East that were meant to secularize and Westernize Muslims by forcing them to adopt Western styles of dress, a few countries--most notably Iran and Saudi Arabia--have passed laws requiring Muslim dress in all public spaces. Others--notably Turkey and France--have enacted laws to ban certain styles of Muslim dress such as the niqab (face veil) and burquini (full-body swimsuit) from public spaces. Over the last ten years, there has been a rapid expansion in the body of academic literature on this topic, focusing largely on contemporary politics, media representations, gender, migration, and the Islamic fashion industry, along with regional variations in Muslim dress.

Introduction: "Aesthetics" is about sensory experiences: how we see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. It's also about how we make personal and social meanings out of those experiences, and (sometimes) how we use them as a social or political tool. Hitler, for example, was an amateur artist. When he rose to power, he not only judged the aesthetic qualities of things (including artwork and people) but he also used the force of the German state to eliminate categories that he considered "degenerate, " arguing that they would only spoil the beauty and purity of the German people. Aesthetics matter. This lesson plan is designed to engage critically with the concept of beauty - what is beauty and why do we care about it? Why do beautiful people often earn more money and enjoy better health? Why do we pay a premium for sleek cars, well-designed shoes, trendy colors, and real estate with a spectacular view? Some of our responses to things are shaped by evolution and human biology, but there is also a great deal of diversity among individuals and various cultures. This lesson plan is designed for mid-level undergraduates, but could be scaled up for an advanced or postgraduate course. Writing assignments should emphasize observations of images (and where possible, objects) as well as first-person writing, which is a different skill from objective, third-person writing. Aesthetics is a very subjective topic.