Dr. Genna F.

Reeves-DeArmond

Statement of Research Interests and Philosophy

Research is an integral part of my academic experience and career goals. My research is informed by the
following idea with which I concluded my doctoral dissertation:
We are all on a journeya quest for knowledge and understanding. We seek to understand life,
society and history. In that way we can identify with each other and those who came before us by
bearing witness to lived experiences that capture our personal journeys.
A holistic understanding of the subjective perceptions and interpretations of individuals can be achieved
through a variety of research methods that address these complex interactions. Topically, broad questions
focused upon understanding the connections between material culture history (specifically dress), popular
culture, learning processes, design, forecasting, and cross-cultural apparel needs are addressed in my
research. Philosophically, my research goals are centered upon diverse academic points of view and the
inclusion of students.
Research inquiry advances through a mixture of asking intriguing questions and performing studies that
incorporate innovative methods. My research is most often situated in an interpretive research design, but I
also have experience with quantitative data and a mixed-methods approach. I am making use of innovative
methods, such as phenomenological interviews and personal meaning mapping, to explore historic dress
from previously-unexplored perspectives. My research interests require me to read from a wide variety of
academic disciplines (e.g., philosophy and history of the arts, communications, visual rhetoric, museum
studies, heritage studies, and institutional critique). There is significant potential in the development of a
new niche in the research of historic and cultural dress that combines these disciplines. To date there has
been little investigation of the interconnectedness of these concepts/disciplines in the historic dress
literature, and I wish to cultivate such scholarship. Research is enriched by scholars from unrelated fields
who can bring fresh opinions and points of view to the project. Hence, I wish to conduct collaborative
research that allows for work with scholars in a variety of fields. Research collaborations have included
scholars in the fields of social psychology of dress, philosophy of the arts, apparel design, museum studies,
visual rhetoric, and fashion communication. My varied professional organization affiliations also show a
commitment to collaborative inquiry.
A significant component of my research program focuses upon the role of costume and dress artifact
displays in understanding historical events within the museum setting. My dissertation involved research
about how the 1912 sinking of the Titanic has been incorporated in to popular culture via museums and
movie portrayals (e.g., the 1997 Titanic film). These mediums have become a lens through which the
historical events are understood. I have begun to expand upon this research by replicating the study at the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Data collection is currently in progress. Future studies are
planned to explore the same topic related to Pearl Harbor and 9/11 in an effort to compare different
strategies for display and education using dress. Desired outcomes of this ongoing research are
recommendations for future practice of displaying dress to enhance learning and personal meaning-making
processes in the museum setting.
Connectedly, it is important that my research contribute to knowledge that can be practically applied in the
museum and/or learning environment. For example, I presented a subset of my dissertation research at the
2013 International Textile and Apparel Association conference. The topic of the presentation was visitor
perceptions of Titanics Rose as a living history interpreter/character in Titanic Museum Attractions.
Several museum professionals were in attendance. They found relevance in the recommendations provided
for the display of dress objects and the use of living history interpreters. It is my goal to work toward
implementation of the display recommendations with museum professionals.

I have a strong research interest in cross-cultural apparel design. The demand for cross-cultural clothing is
best met if there is an accurate understanding of the cultural factors that influence clothing needs and
preferences. An understanding of cultural factors through research is important because the development of
products marketed and used across cultures continues to expand. My interest in this topic began when I
redesigned a cross-cultural aspects of material culture course. The course redesign included a new project
for which students designed an item of cross-cultural dress that would meet the needs of a cultural group
acculturating to United States culture. I have worked with two groups of undergraduate students as a coinvestigator and research advisor following their respective completions of the course to undertake formal
research involving their designs. The first group completed a study regarding the design and assessment of
a modified hijab headscarf to further understand and meet the needs of Saudi Arabian women acculturating
to United States culture. The second group completed a study regarding the design and assessment of an
Armenian wedding dress to further understand and meet the needs of Armenian women acculturating to
United States culture. The Armenian headdress research included an in-depth critique of two established
design models: Lins Cultural Product Design Model and Mullet and Parks Cross-Cultural Design
Framework for Apparel Design. The critique resulted in a revised cross-cultural product design model titled
the Reflective Pyramid Process. A research manuscript detailing this modified model is currently in press
for Design Principles and Practices: An International Journal. I believe it is important to obtain feedback
on other designs conceived by students for this project. In so doing, the models of Lin and Mullet and Park
are being continually tested and refined. Further exploration of student design work also provides a unique
opportunity to conduct research alongside students. It is important to me that I advance my field through
the education of students who will become members of the next generation of researchers. I intend to
further test the Reflective Pyramid Process as well.
My current research program also reflects innovation in pedagogy. I recently completed a research study as
a co-investigator regarding student and faculty perceptions of the development and use of Massive Open
Online Courses (MOOCs) in clothing and textiles education. My research colleagues and I received a grant
from Oregon State University E-Campus to conduct this research. A manuscript is currently in
development. MOOCs are still in the experimental phase within higher education and research is needed to
determine how they can most effectively be used. I am working with clothing and textile colleagues in the
International Textile and Apparel Association to explore how MOOCs can be developed for hybrid use
between professional organizations and academic departments within the clothing and textiles discipline. I
am also working with two colleagues to study student and faculty perceptions of clothing and textile online
courses, as well as qualitative reflections from faculty and industry professionals regarding the skills and
knowledge needed by clothing and textile graduates in the workforce. The goal of this research is to help
guide academic program revision and development decisions, as well as to assess and improve the current
state of online education in clothing and textiles education.
Lastly, it is important to advance the body of knowledge related to the understanding and dissemination of
research and theory trends in historic dress and textiles research. This increasingly important sub-discipline
deserves attention because it seeks understanding of the past and can offer insights into present and future
trends. I completed research with an undergraduate student that reevaluated Lavers Law in an effort to
explore if historical continuity in fashion trends can provide theoretical underpinnings for the process of
modern fashion trend revival. Future research is planned to examine the cultural factors that allow trends to
be revived via focus groups; research conducted with consumers who adopted trends in the past and
experience them again in the modern retail environment are valuable resources. I co-authored an influential
article about research and theory trends in historic and cultural dress and textiles research in Clothing and
Textiles Research Journal in 2011. This article represented the first study of its kind to exclusively explore
such research and theory trends. The desired expansion of this research will include content analysis of
other journals that publish such scholarship (including those published outside of the United States) and
interviewing the authors of the research articles analyzed about methodological decisions and the presence
of theory in their work.