Female Gaze: American Art and Visual Culture after 1970 4219-SD0087
During the class we will concentrate on the theory of the female gaze in relation to the concept of the male gaze
proposed by film theorist, critic and artist Laura Mulvey. We will look at various ways of constructing protagonists,
relationships, as well as imagery and visual narrative in North American visual and performative arts as well as
cinema from the second half of the 20 th century onwards. In the course of the semester, while looking at the artworks
and reading critical and theoretical essays we will be engaged in collective research on a theory of the female gaze
that can open up the field of vision and imagination to various non-normative constructions of both the person
looking, the person seen or looked at, and, above all, our collective ways of seeing.
We will discuss the works of the following artists: Martha Rosler, Cindy Sherman, Carolee Schneemann, Zoe
Leonard, Carrie Mae Weems, Susan Meiselas, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Ana Mendieta among others.
Type of course
Mode
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge:
* The student knows basic theories and concepts in gender studies, visual culture and contemporary art.
* Can identify works, artistic figures, and exhibitions relevant to the visual culture of the United States in the second
half of the 20th and 21st centuries.
* Has knowledge of the main lines of discussion and dispute regarding second-wave feminism, particularly in the
areas of representation, the image, the visual and performing arts field, taking into account their historical context
and socio-cultural conditions.
* Has knowledge of feminist activism in the field of art and its accompanying theories.
Skills:
* The student is able to interpret selected works of art and visual cultural phenomena in the United States in relation
to gender studies and feminist theories.
* Can use theories and concepts from gender studies to analyse phenomena in the field of visual culture. Be able to
evaluate the impact of these phenomena on the formation of feminist identities, narratives and practices.
* Be able to formulate research questions independently and propose appropriate methods and tools for their
investigation and analysis, using critical thinking skills and knowledge of the specific topic analysed in class.
* Be able to critically and in an engaged way analyse research findings and texts in the field of visual culture and
gender studies, taking into account different contextual and theoretical perspectives.
Competences:
* The student engages in discussion, formulates his/her own theses, skilfully justifies them and relates to the
arguments and theses presented by other participants in the discussion, demonstrating the ability to engage in critical
dialogue.
* Collects, analyses and interprets data and is able to present it in the form of a textual and visual statement,
maintaining an appropriate structure and clarity of argument.
* Is able to independently prepare a multimedia presentation that synthesises the information collected.
* Becomes more critical of the products of visual culture and contemporary art, with particular reference to the
politics of representation of sexuality and the body.
Assessment criteria
Attendance and active participation in class (2 absences allowed) – 40%
Participation in a research project and presentation of its results – 60%
Bibliography
• Art After 1900. Modernism. Antimodernism. Postmodernism, Yve-Alain Bois, Benjamin H. D. Buchloh,
David Joselit, Hal Foster, Rosalind Krauss, Thames & Hudson 2004
• A Companion to Contemporary Art since 1945, red. Amelia Jones, Oxford 2006.
• Feminist Avant-Garde: Art of the 1970s in the Sammlung Verbund Collection, Vienna 2016
• Emma Lewis, Photography - A Feminist History, London 2023
• Roxana Marcoci, Our Selves: Photographs by Women Artists, New York 2022
• Laura Mulvey, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, Screen 1975
• Martha Rosler, Decoys and Disruptions. Selected Writings, 1975–2001, MIT Press 2006
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: