Unravelling Fishermen's Ganseys

Unravelling Fishermen's Ganseys
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This is a past event

Elphinstone Institute Public Lecture Series

The distinctive construction and decoration of fishermen’s gansey’s – the knitted sweaters traditionally worn by men in coastal fishing communities – is an image of British vernacular culture both iconic and intricately varied. How can such variation in gansey patterns be accounted for? How long have ganseys been inexistence? When did they originate, and where? Can we make sense of the geographical distribution of gansey patterns? Attempts will be made to do some of this by considering traditional narrative explanations and an evolutionary approach using demographic and phylogenetic analysis.

 

Dr Malcolm Smith is an evolutionary anthropologist at Durham University.

Speaker
Dr Malcolm Smith
Hosted by
Elphinstone Institute
Venue
MacRobert Building, MR051