Ēducēre, often translated from Latin as “to lead or draw out,” is a root of the English word for education and a key concept in my teaching practice, which aims to encourage students to discover their individual paths and process.
A screenshot of a Google search definition for “educate.”
A picture of Sarah in a museum study classroom, arm extended toward a hanging garment stand that holds a pale pink mini-dress by the designer André Courregès. Two garment racks in the background contain colorful garments by assorted designers.
Selected Courses
Sarah specializes in classes that focus on developing fashion exhibitions in theory and practice, identifying key design traits, and relating the history of fashion and textiles to scholars and designers through social and technological changes.
(FIT, Fashion & Textile Studies MA) Museum Theory & Practice: An introductory course that fosters an understanding of the roles played by museum staff across departments through the critical evaluation and theoretical creation of a fashion or textile exhibition.
(FIT, Fashion & Textile Studies MA) Exhibition Planning, Interpretation, & Practicum: A year-long course that allows students to implement skills acquired in courses in the first year of study and gain a deeper understanding of the process of mounting an exhibition at The Museum at FIT. Students fully and independently executed the responsibilities of curatorial, design, and public outreach/education roles in a museum setting. Sarah led the development of graduate student exhibitions at the Museum at FIT from 2013-2019. For an overview of the exhibitions, click here.
(FIT, Fashion & Textile Studies MA) Qualifying Paper: Designed a single-term course to support the development of a paper proposal from idea conception, methodology & theory, research, advisor securement, schedules, writing support, and editing. Student projects include historical research papers, collection management practices, conservation studies and treatments, and proposed exhibitions.
(FIT, Fashion & Textile Studies MA) History of American Men’s Wear: Explores the history of men's fashion from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries through the lens of the United States of America. The course interrogates gender and social norms, the impact of media on menswear, the concept of American identity through clothing, and the influence of world cultures through fashion systems and immigration.
(FIT, Fashion Design MFA) craft:OLOGY (course author): A survey course of fashion history through the lens of craft and technology. Created to provide design students with a greater understanding of how fashion designers have been able to innovate because of technological advances in the past and to understand the role of technology in their design work. Aspects of trade, sustainability, and world cultures from pre-history through the present day inform the foundation for self-exploration.
(NYU, Costume Studies MA) History of Textiles II: The Modern Era: Investigates textiles from 1800 to the present day regarding design, creation, marketing, and use. Visual and structural analysis of textile objects is combined with consideration of historical developments to situate textiles in the context of the surrounding culture. The past two centuries' rapid, global technological advances are given particular attention as they affect traditional, industrial, and contemporary textile practices.
(Parsons, Fashion Studies MA) Materiality of Fashion: Introduces students to object-based studies of fashion and textiles. Provides a foundation for fashion and textile terminology; research methods and tools; and standards of handling, storage, and interpretation.
(Textile Arts Center, Artist-in-Residence program) History of Textiles: Research, Design, & Culture: An adaptive course for textile artists to engage with the history of textiles and object-based research through lecture, conversation, and self-led study. Taught as a standard timeline or through thematic segments, the content and goals transform with each group of artists in residence.