Professor Trish FitzSimons and Madelyn Shaw have developed Fabric of War as an inter-disciplinary and multi-national exploration of how the global trade in wool affected both producers and consumers of that raw material over the course of a hundred or so years. Our goal is to encourage exploration of how social, political, and economic histories of wool intertwine with the histories of the science and technology that allowed, or forced, or encouraged particular actions on the part of individuals or nations, producers or consumers.

 This online exhibition links primary source documents, material and visual culture, and documentary film. The larger project, of which this site is a part, will encompass a multi-author book, a traveling exhibition/exhibition template, and a longer film or film series.

Our plan for a travelling exhibition template will allow borrowing institutions to use it as a base, incorporating their own collections into a framework that integrates text panels, graphics, archival images, video and audio. Documentary film, a key component, enhances the power of objects and graphic elements. A scalable object checklist with label template encourages institutions of different sizes to connect local and national histories to international issues and themes.