Alison Matthews David

Dr. Alison Matthews David was awarded a PhD in Art History from Stanford University. She is a historian of dress and textiles, focusing on the nineteenth and early twentieth-century fashion, accessories and material culture. Her work intersects with multiple areas including medical history, criminology, and occupational health. Her creative work includes fashion curation, and she launched the journal Fashion Studies with her co-editor Dr. Ben Barry in 2018. She is currently the Graduate Program Director for Ryerson’s MA Fashion program.

Research affiliations: The Centre for Fashion Diversity & Social Change, Modern Literature and Culture Research Centre, Centre for Labour and Management Relations

Sample of supervised ComCult projects:

2021 - Myriam Couturier; Dissertation: Reading Fashion in the Corporate Archive: The Communication, Promotion and Collection of Dress at Eaton's

2018 - Alanna McKnight; Dissertation: Shaping Toronto: Female Economy and Agency In The Corset Industry, 1871-1914

ComCult Teaching Activities

CC 8836 Selected Topics in Media and Culture - Re-Dressing Crime