Fall 2024

Behavioral science approach to close relationship development.

This introductory course is designed to give students an understanding of human development across the lifespan. Topics covered include theories of development, research methods for studying human development, physical growth and development, cognitive development, personality development, as well as social and moral development across the lifespan. The emphasis of the course is on addressing a topical approach to normative lifespan development and learning how research and theories help elucidate these topics.

In this course, qualified students work on an individual basis with professors who have agreed to supervise such work.

This course provides an in-depth exploration of varying special topics within the fashion industry's science and technology field. The topics of the course vary depending on instructor and semester. Each course will overview core concepts, foundational knowledge, and practical applications about the topics presented. The course will focus on contemporary issues in the field and those issues' contextual positioning within industry, community, and societal contexts.

Specialized work on an individual basis, consisting of training and practice in actual service in a technical, business, or governmental establishment.

Universally, people make daily choices about what to or not to wear. This course presents a comparative examination of fashion across different cultural perspectives using Western and non-Western examples; we will take a three-pronged approach to distinguish dress across cultures, uncovering its relationship to human beings as biological, aesthetic, and social creatures. We will review readings collected from course text books, academic journals and other current articles from magazines and newspapers. In addition we will analyze the complexity of dress from a multidisciplinary perspective. Therefore we will explore topics that include anthropology, sociology, economics, fine arts, religion , natural sciences and technological changes.

The rise of the digital influencer has propelled billions of marketing and advertising dollars into the social media economy. The construction and cultivation of influencers has resulted in self-branding, micro-celebrities who are Instafamous. The fashion industry has greatly benefited from this rapidly growing, dynamic, new digital space. This course will examine the influencer industry through close readings, videos, and in-depth analysis. Students will learn about how influencers create online personas, perform digital labor, and participate in the attention economy to commodify their labor. The course will further unpack the pros and cons of influencer culture, and question whether the future of human influencers will be replaced by CGI influencers (Computer Generated Imagery).

This course provides an overview of the business aspects of the fashion industry. Students will explore fashion brand creation, design development, sourcing, production, global supply chain management and distribution. Students will also examine the legal aspects of fashion businesses including the law and copyright protections of patents, trademarks, trade dress, service marks, copyrights and licensing.

This course integrates the chemical composition, molecular arrangement, and physical structure of natural and manufactured fibers. Yarn and fabric manufacturing processes as well as finishing techniques are included. Attention is given to how these characteristics and techniques affect function, performance, and quality of textile products.

Develop the science of predicting future fashion trends. Learn the relationship between forecasting, trend prediction, external, social changes, and historical style movements. Analyze past styled movements and establish an understanding of historical context, consumer trends, buying patterns, fads, and cults. Research color palettes, surface and fabric trends and concepts, form and silhouette changes, and product shifts. Learn to synthesis trends for new product by gaining insight into consumers' attitudes and lifestyles phases. Group and individual projects are used to access the students learning. This course is not intended for RCSC majors. No RCSC credit will be given for this course.