Reminiscence as a Tool for Pedagogy in a Fashion Design and Merchandizing Curriculum

Abstract

The use of reminiscence methodology, in the form of oral history or life story projects is not uncommon in higher education coursework. It provides students the experience of working with older adults and leaning about historical events. However, it might also be successfully used in other academic disciplines, particularly for providing students with the opportunity to apply course material to everyday environments. This article describes the development of a reminiscence project used in Fashion Design and Merchandising Courses. For this project, students applied Consumer Culture Theory to their interviews with older adults about people, places, social roles, and events around their clothing choices at various points of the lifespan. The pilot project demonstrated that dyadic reminiscence interviews around clothing-related reminiscence can be successfully applied to teaching Consumer Culture Theory. Further applications for use of this methodology are discussed.