The Hair Symposium

This symposium will be all about hair in the past. We'll be discussing:

its grooming and maintenance
its manipulation through cleaning, cutting, dyeing, braiging, tying and covering
its role in display, communication, and the structuring of society
how its use may be considered as part of a suite of strategies of bodily transformation and adornment (such as tattooing, piercing, cosmetics etc)
hygienic and medical rationales for haircare (lice etc)
the technologies of hair manipulation - combs, tweezers, dyes, 'product' etc.

This interdisciplinary symposium will have no chronological or geographical boundaries. Moreover, though our aim is to illuminate the study of hair in the past, we would be very keen to hear from modern practitioners that feel they may have something to contribute to discussion; hairdressers, wigmakers, artists, sociologists and anthropologists are all most welcome. The key focus is head hair, though approaches that incorporate attitudes to facial and body hair are also welcome. Discussion of the face and body will take place at future symposia.

Details, dates, and arrangements are still to be confirmed. Please check back here for updates.