Course Description

Shakespeare wrote in Macbeth that “sleep … knits up the raveled sleeve of care,” but did you know that literally knitting can also knit up the raveled sleeve of care? This humble fiber art – using needles to loop yarn into fabric – is in evidence from at least 300 CE, in the form of a child’s stripey sock in shades of red, pink and yellow. Cultures around the world have made this craft their own, resulting in myriad traditions, techniques, motifs, and finished products. More recently, research has found what many previous generations already knew: that the soft rhythm of knitting, its tactile sensations, knowing that mistakes can be repaired, and the gratification of seeing the physical results of your work all contribute to knitters’ relaxation and wellbeing. In this class, we will explore knitting as mindfulness by crafting hats to donate to individuals experiencing hair loss from cancer treatment. No knitting experience is needed! You can learn how to make the hats from start to finish, even if you don’t think you’re a “crafty” person or you’ve never seen a knitting needle in your life. During the semester, we’ll knit together and reflect on the ways hand crafting affects our sense of community, creativity and mental health. (Since Macbeth was having trouble sleeping on account of all the murders, maybe he should have stuck to knitting instead.)

Texts

Two readings early in the semester will be used to frame the semester’s crafting and reflections:

Jones, Susan. 2023. “Making time: knitting as temporal-material entanglement.” Journal of Material Culture 29(1): 82-101.

Kargól, Marta. 2021. “Knitting as remedy: women’s everyday creativity in response to hopelessness and despair." Cultural Studies36: 81-839.

Requirements

Students will participate in class meetings to learn knitting, knit together, and engage in free and guided discussion. They’ll demonstrate consistent progress toward completing their knitted project and complete brief, informal written reflections related to their experiences in the course.

About the Instructor(s): Amy Farnbach Pearson

Amy Farnbach Pearson is a historical anthropologist specializing in the social construction of medical knowledge and practice, with a PhD in Anthropology from Arizona State University. Her teaching and research trace western medical concepts of health and disease, doctor-patient interactions, and quality of care from the nineteenth century to today.