5 ms·

> Why is it that so many people seem to think "crafts" are irrelevant or unworthy of academic study? Are we still that bound to silly notions about what should

> Why is it that so many people seem to think "crafts" are irrelevant or unworthy of academic study? Are we still that bound to silly notions about what should carry 'prestige'? Are you mulling about some general state of affairs, or are you making a targeted inference about me? I don't understand. I never claimed that textiles or crafts were irrelevant or unworthy of academic study.

kergonath 5y ago
That came a bit out of the blue in the article as well. On one hand it makes sense of that activities that were not written about and did not leave much artefacts behind (say, like textile and cooking) are less known that things (like warfare) about which epics were written and that left a lot of traces as weapons, skeletons, etc. On the other hand, we do actually know a thing or two about textile making in antiquity (see here for example, with loads of references: https://acoup.blog/2021/03/05/collections-clothing-how-did-they-make-it-part-i-high-fiber https://acoup.blog/2021/03/05/collections-clothing-how-did-t... ). It is not absurd to assume that historians (with their own perspective and interests) were not necessarily that interested in what they could see as trivialities such as cooking and textile production, because of their frame of reference. But asserting that we know nothing about “women’s works” because of sexism is quite the leap.
- marginalia_nu 5y ago
  Textile craft even does make its way into epics and cultural imagery, at least in the Homeric tradition Penelope's weaving as a significant plot point in the Odyssey.
  - FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
    You can add Arachne to this list.
    - marginalia_nu 5y ago
      Yeah, there's a whole bunch of examples. The fates, too.
      - FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
        Ah, yes! > A metaphor for the lifespan of an individual, as generated by Clotho, measured out by Lachesis and terminated by Atropos.
- FredPret 5y ago
  Given the role of textiles in the industrial and also information revolution (Jacquard looms used the first punch cards and helped inspire Babbage’s Difference Engine), I think any historian would take it very seriously. Also, as my sibling comment points out, weaving even made its way into the myths.
  - selimthegrim 5y ago
    Jacquard came up on the post a few days ago about gender stratified words as a highly female-known one.

kergonath 5y ago

That came a bit out of the blue in the article as well. On one hand it makes sense of that activities that were not written about and did not leave much artefacts behind (say, like textile and cooking) are less known that things (like warfare) about which epics were written and that left a lot of traces as weapons, skeletons, etc. On the other hand, we do actually know a thing or two about textile making in antiquity (see here for example, with loads of references: https://acoup.blog/2021/03/05/collections-clothing-how-did-they-make-it-part-i-high-fiber https://acoup.blog/2021/03/05/collections-clothing-how-did-t... ). It is not absurd to assume that historians (with their own perspective and interests) were not necessarily that interested in what they could see as trivialities such as cooking and textile production, because of their frame of reference. But asserting that we know nothing about “women’s works” because of sexism is quite the leap.

marginalia_nu 5y ago
Textile craft even does make its way into epics and cultural imagery, at least in the Homeric tradition Penelope's weaving as a significant plot point in the Odyssey.
- FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
  You can add Arachne to this list.
  - marginalia_nu 5y ago
    Yeah, there's a whole bunch of examples. The fates, too.
    - FooBarBizBazz 5y ago
      Ah, yes! > A metaphor for the lifespan of an individual, as generated by Clotho, measured out by Lachesis and terminated by Atropos.
FredPret 5y ago
Given the role of textiles in the industrial and also information revolution (Jacquard looms used the first punch cards and helped inspire Babbage’s Difference Engine), I think any historian would take it very seriously. Also, as my sibling comment points out, weaving even made its way into the myths.
- selimthegrim 5y ago
  Jacquard came up on the post a few days ago about gender stratified words as a highly female-known one.