This course examines textile histories in relation to material culture and critical theory, from the early modern period to the present, and in a variety of cultural and geographic settings. From the raw materials, to the finished fabrics, key textiles and fibres will be highlighted in order to understand social and global sites of exchange and artistic practice. Themes around production, consumption, embodiment and making will enable fruitful intersections between a social history of textiles and emerging theories in the fields of fashion, art, craft and design.