Call for Papers:
College Art Association Conference: 2010 Chicago
February 10- 13, 2010

Session: “Dressing the Part: Textiles as Propaganda in the Middle Ages”

During the Middle Ages, textiles played a particularly prominent role in
the communication of wealth and authority by mediating the body politic
and defining spaces of political, religious, and social power. The
intrinsic material value of textiles—woven out of silk, silver and/or
gold threads, and often garnished with precious stones—complemented a
complex visual language that conveyed ideological messages. From the
ornamented sphere of ecclesiastical dress and the celebrations of feast
days to an aristocrat’s various rites of passage (such as birth,
marriage, coronation), textiles functioned as propaganda. Rulers across
Europe and the Islamic world expressed their dynastic claims, military
prowess, political aspirations and accomplishments by commissioning,
displaying, wearing, and offering textiles.

This session welcomes papers that address how various forms of textiles
were used in the construction and display of power. Material culture
studies that explore textile display are welcome, as are art historical
studies concerning the representation of textiles in other media, as
well as investigations of textile design, that offer insight into how
textiles were interwoven with notions of identity, status, and power.

Session organizers:
Dr. Kate Dimitrova, University of California, San Diego, and
Dr. Margaret Goehring, University of Rochester.

Send abstracts by Friday, May 8, 2009 to both organizers at:
kdimitrovaucsd.edu and mgoehrochester.rr.com

Please follow the CAA guidelines for submission of proposals:
http://www.collegeart.org/pdf/2010CallforParticipation.pdf

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Kate Dimitrova, PhD
Visiting Lecturer
Visual Arts Department
University of California, San Diego
dimitrovafulbrightmail.org
www.katedimitrova.com

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