Exploring Culture Through Character
In this course we will explore costume as a cultural artifact that reveals a character's background, life experience, and world view within the larger narrative of a character's story. Students will choose their focal character from literature (a novel, poem, fable, or myth), a film, or an episodic series.
This is not a course that teaches how to design or create a costume. In this course we will analyze costume for information on cultural heritage. We will consider the socio-political environment of a character's story, and the similarities and differences, meaning, purpose, and traditions that the costumes reveal. Along with developing analytical skills, the course seeks to broaden students' awareness of cultures other than their own and build cultural competence.

Sarah Beers is a professional costume designer for theater (NYC and regional) and film and television. She was a recipient of a 2013 Emmy for costume design and has taught at Kingdom County Production’s experiential film program for college students. https://www.sarahbeersdesign.com/