April 5, 2010

Event | My Doctoral Dissertation Defense!


Well, ladies and gents,
it's about that time.
I will defend my dissertation at the University of Arizona this coming Friday.

I have been busy preparing a presentation of my fantabulous topic (Native designers of high fashion), and as of now it's at a whopping 1.5 hours. Eek. It needs to be at 40 minutes.

So I shaved off around 13 or so slides, slammed another cup of coffee, and will be steadily working towards a potent 40 minute presentation.

It's tough because my dissertation is at 399 pages. I feel like I have so much to talk about! The general outline of my presentation will follow my chapter outline:

CHAPTER 1: Introduction to the World of Native High Fashion
CHAPTER 2: Lloyd Kiva New: Native Fashion in the 1940s and 1950s
CHAPTER 3: From Sewing to Traditional Techniques: The Role of Education in Contemporary Native Clothing Design
CHAPTER 4: Wendy Ponca and Design Instruction at IAIA
CHAPTER 5: Native Female Designers: Producing Indian Chic in Indian Country (1970s-1980s)
CHAPTER 6: Native Female Designers: Ushering in a New Native Chic (1990s-Present)
CHAPTER 7: Of Clay and Body: The Pottery and Fashion Designs of Virgil Ortiz
CHAPTER 8: Conclusion: Native High Fashion Today and Tomorrow

Yes, that's eight chapters! And I will have a mere 5 minutes to present on each chapter. Aw, how sad.