Introduction The ongoing Drum Magazine Project is a crossinstitutional teaching and research project between the Department of Fashion in the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the Department of Fashion and Textiles at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). The project’s purpose was to find a locally specific and sensitive method of teaching fashion theory and history in the modules Theory of Clothing 2 (at DUT) and Fashion Design Theory 2 (at UJ). While titled differently, these modules have parallels in the fashion programmes at both institutions. The modules immerse students in researching fashion design history and theory as a social phenomenon. Against the backdrop of this information, in 2022 we used the 1950s and 1960s Drum magazine archives to teach fashion as a socio-political and socio-cultural phenomenon in the South African context. By teaching fashion this way, we attempted to create an enabling environment for the 2022 student cohort to chronicle part of South African fashion history. Methodology and Process of the DrumMagazine project The teaching and research project was implemented in multiple phases, including researching, conceptualising, writing the brief, preparing learning material, and implementing the student assignment. For the project, students were required to: 1. Analyse imagery of an individual, and write a biographical essay about the individual captured in Drum magazine, using appropriate fashion theories and concepts; 2. Style and visually communicate a contemporary look, inspired and informed by the allocated Drum magazine photograph of the individual. A rigorous research process preceded these tasks outlined in the assignment brief. Preparing for this project entailed viewing 1950s and 1960s Drum archives found at Bailey’s African History Archives at Maboneng (See Figure 1) and the National Library in Pretoria. This process involved about six months of research by the lecturers. When the research was concluded, a twopart lecture series was prepared. The lecture series focused on: 1. The South African social and political climate during the 1950s and 1960s, as covered in Drum magazine (Part One); 2. Arts, culture, and fashion during this South African socio-political period, as covered in Drum magazine (Part Two). Figure 1: Early research days at Bailey’s African History Archives, Maboneng, Johannesburg. Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century | Showcasing UJ Teaching Innovation Projects 2022 41
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