Researcher ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5718-5809
Graduation Year
2023
Date of Submission
12-2023
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Religious Studies
Second Department
Intercollegiate Media Studies
Reader 1
Esther Ching Kim
Reader 2
Gaston Espinosa
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
© 2023 Maureen U Tchatchoua
Abstract
The connection between religion, colonialism, and dress is a complex interplay rooted in historical contexts. Western clothing imposition on indigenous populations served as a tool for religious conversion and assimilation, reflecting the broader concept of the "civilizing mission." This essay explores the relationship's critical aspects and its impact on sartorial liberation, focusing on historical challenges. The thesis contends that religious groups like The Early Christian Church, 20th-century Iranian Muslims, and North American Rastafaris historically adopted the colonists' savior complex for modesty and resistance against societal impurities. It examines how clothing, including attire, grooming, and body adornment, functioned as visual communication, reinforcing social hierarchies and echoing colonial powers' dominance.
Recommended Citation
Tchatchoua, Maureen Ursul, "Dress, Dogma, and Defiance: Navigating Religio-Colonialist Saviorism in the Realm of Sartorial Liberation" (2023). CMC Senior Theses. 3509.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/3509
Included in
Education Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons
