With contributions from leading experts, this edited collection presents original research on the skills brought by immigrant communities to the textile and fashion industries, from the early modern to postmodern periods in Asia and the Islamic World, Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
Manufacturing of textiles and apparel is arduous work, which historically depended on skilled artisans, inexpensive labor, and the introduction of labor-saving technology. Immigrant communities supplied much of the work force, bringing their own skill sets to new locations, leading to the development of new manufacturing centers and an increase in both production and technical expertise. Throughout the volume, the role of migration and immigrant involvement in manufacturing is also examined in relation to trade, politics, and socio-religious circumstances prompting relocation.
Deconstructing the question of provenance by examining the cultural identity of migrant populations, the research brings to light ongoing dilemmas and practices of diaspora communities. By analyzing material, mythical, and technical aspects of textile and apparel production, contributors create a new narrative about textile- and garment-making as a collective endeavor, requiring diversity of skill and methodology to thrive.
Arvustused
Extends valuable critical enquiry into the role historically played by workers in textile and garment production. It is an important collection of studies for design history researchers, especially those with an interest in sericulture and silk consumption. -- Katie Irani, Doctorate researcher, Royal College of Art & Associate Lecturer, London College of Fashion, UK Spanning centuries and continents, the essays in this volume integrate mythology, Abrahamic narratives, plantation ledgers and personal accounts to complement the scholarly analysis of the histories, skill, knowledge and craft that construct individual identity and accompany human migration. -- Wendy Weiss, Emeritus Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
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Fresh perspectives on the historical significance of immigrants as both laborers and specialists in textile and apparel production across the globe from the early modern period to the present.
Preface
Part One: Introduction
1. A Brief History of Textile Production and Trade Nazanin Hedayat Munroe,
NYC College of Technology, City University of New York, USA
Part Two: Imported Myths, Imported Moths: Silk Production Across Asia
2. Histories of Silken Skills: Immigrant Sericulturalists in Early Modern
South Asia Sylvia Houghteling, Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr,
Pennsylvania, USA
3. Prophets and Caterpillars: The Story of Job and the Social Mobility of
Silk Workers and Weavers in the Early Modern Islamic World Nader Sayadi,
University of Rochester, New York, USA
Part Three: Imported Skills: Weaving Specialists Go Global
4 Master Craftsmen in Migration: Safavid Silk Weavers in Mughal India
Nazanin Hedayat Munroe, NYC College of Technology, City University of New
York, USA
5. Weaving Andean Textiles on Islamic Looms: The Importation of Skilled
Weavers in the Colonial Andes Maria Madison Smith, Syracuse University, New
York, USA
Part Four: Imported Labor: Enslaved and Immigrant Workers in America
6. Clothing the Black Body in Slavery: Stolen Lives and Imported Labor
Wanett Clyde, NYC College of Technology, City University of New York, USA
7. How the Other Half Works: Perceptions and Realities of Immigrant Labor in
the New York Apparel Industry Nazanin Hedayat Munroe, NYC College of
Technology, City University of New York, USA
Part Five: Imported Culture: Textile as Tradition in the Diaspora
8. Silk Weaving in the Cambodian Refugee Crisis and Diaspora: Displaced
Practice and Identities in the Post-Khmer Rouge Era Magali An Berthon,
Center for Textile Research, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
9. The Evolution of an Identity: Tracing the Trajectory of Sindhi Ajrak
across the IndiaPakistan Border Pragya Sharma, Indian Institute of Art and
Design, New Delhi, India
Conclusion
Glossary of Textile Terms
References
Index
Nazanin Hedayat Munroe is Associate Professor and Director of Textiles at City University of New York, USA. An artist and art historian, she received her Ph.D. in art history from University of Bern, Switzerland specializing in early modern silks, and her M.F.A. in Fiber from Cranbrook Academy of Art, USA. Her research for Sufi Lovers, Safavid Silks and Early Modern Identity received the Henry Wasser Award for Outstanding Research from the CUNY Academy of Humanities and Sciences at CUNY Graduate Center, where she is newly appointed to the Board as Chair of Interdisciplinary Research.
