Active Outline

General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
WMSTD003C
Course Title (CB02)
Women and Art
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2023
Course Description
This course examines the history of women in relation to society and the visual arts from prehistory to the present, across a range of cultures. Obstacles faced by women artists are explored, as well as contributions made by women artists, and art in which women serve as subject matter.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course is a major requirement in the discipline of Art History for at least one CSU or UC. Further, this course meets a general education requirement for 爱豆传媒, CSU GE, and/or IGETC. It belongs on the Art History Associate of Arts Degree. It was developed to meet a thematic requirement within the ARTS 3T (Topics in Art History) series, introducing students to the practice of art history through analysis of representations of women as well as imagery produced by historical and contemporary women artists.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
0

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
爱豆传媒 GEArea(s)StatusDetails
2GC1爱豆传媒 GE Area C1 - ArtsApproved
2GDX爱豆传媒 GE Area D - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved
CSU GEArea(s)StatusDetails
CGC1CSU GE Area C1 - ArtsApproved
CGDYCSU GE Area D - Social SciencesApproved
IGETCArea(s)StatusDetails
IG3AIGETC Area 3A - ArtsApproved
IG4XIGETC Area 4 - Social and Behavioral SciencesApproved

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
4.0
Maximum Credit Units
4.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours4.08.0
Laboratory Hours0.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
48.0
Laboratory
0.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
96.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
96.0

Prerequisite(s)

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

EWRT D001A or EWRT D01AH or ESL D005.

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

(Not open to students with credit in the cross-listed course(s).)

(Also listed as ARTS D03TC.)

Entrance Skill(s)

General Course Statement(s)

(See general education pages for the requirements this course meets.)

Methods of Instruction

Lecture and visual aids

Discussion of assigned reading

Discussion of assigned reading

In-class essays

In-class exploration of Internet sites

Field observation and field trips

Collaborative learning and small group exercises

Assignments

  1. Reading assignments
    1. Assigned readings of primary and secondary sources
    2. Supplementary readings for research and visual analysis papers
  2. Written assignments
    1. A research paper requiring analysis of primary and secondary sources
    2. A visual analysis paper requiring analysis of original works of art
  3. Collaborative group work

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Midterm and final exams, including both of the following formats: objective questions identifying works of art and their respective artists, historical periods, dates, and media, and/or 鈥渟hort answer鈥 questions; and written essays requiring analysis of works of art in conjunction with works discussed by students in class, and in response to assigned readings, including application of primary source documents and secondary written sources.
  2. At least one written assignment, comprised of a term paper which requires visual analysis of original works of art (or architecture) contextualized in relation to works of art (or architecture) discussed by students in class. The paper will be evaluated on the basis of any or all of the following: student analysis of physical condition and technical production of art objects; implementation of formal and stylistic analysis; interpretation of subject matter; consideration of the gender, ethnicity, and social status of artists (or architects and/or patrons); and analysis of the function and meaning of the work in society.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials:聽
  • None.
Essential College Facilities:
  • None.

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Chadwick, Whitney. "Women, Art, and Society, fifth edition." London: Thames and Hudson, 2012.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
Cherry, Deborah and Janice Helland. "Local/Global: Women Artists in the Nineteenth Century." Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Limited, and Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2016.
Broude, Norma and Mary D. Garrard, eds. "The Expanding Discourse: Feminism and Art History." New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1992.
Farrington, Lisa. "Creating Their Own Image: The History of African American Women Artists." Oxford and London: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Greer, Germaine. "The Obstacle Race: The Fortunes of Women Painters and Their Work." New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1979.
McMahon, Marci R. "Domestic Negotiations: Gender, Nation, and Self-Fashioning in U.S. Mexicana and Chicana Literature and Art." New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2013.
hooks, bell. "Art on My Mind: Visual Politics." New York: The New Press, 1995.
Gopinath, Gayatri. "Unruly Visions: The Aesthetic Practices of Queer Diaspora." Durham: Duke University Press, 2018.
Kim-Renard, Young-Kay. "Creative Women of Korea: The Fifteenth through the Twentieth Centuries." New York: M.E. Sharpe, 2003.
Kintanar, Thema B. "Self-Portraits: Twelve Filipina Artists Speak." Manila: Ataneo de Manila University Press, 2000.
Kitch, Carolyn. "The Girl on the Magazine Cover: The Origins of Visual Stereotypes in American Mass Media." Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2001.
Frostiq, Karen, and Kathy A. Halamka. "Blaze: Discourse on Art, Women and Feminism." Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009.
Lewis, Reina. "Gendering Orientalism: Race, Femininity, and Representation." London and New York: Routledge, 1996.
Arnett, Paul et al. "Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt." Atlanta, GA: Tinwood Books, 2006.
Nochlin, Linda. "Women, Art, and Power and Other Essays." New York: Harper and Row, 1988.
Reckitt, Helena and Peggy Phelan. "Art and Feminism." London and New York: Phaidon Press, 2012.
Urbanelli, Elisa, ed. "The Sculpture of Ruth Asawa: Contours in the Air." Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.
"Cheers to Muses: Contemporary Works by Asian American Women." San Francisco: Asian American Women Artists Association, 2007.
Brodsky, Judith, et al. "The Fertile Crescent: Gender, Art, and Society." New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2012.
Pollock, Griselda. "Vision and Difference: Femininity, Feminism and the Histories of Art, third edition." London: Routledge, 2003.
Robinson, Hilary, ed. "Feminism Art Theory: An Anthology, 1968-2014, second edition." Chichester, West Sussex and Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2015.
St. Gaudens, Maurine. "Emerging from the Shadows: Women Artists Working in California, 1860-1960." Four volumes. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2015.
Wallace, Michele. "Dark Designs and Visual Culture." Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2004.
Waller, Susan. "Women Artists in the Modern Era: A Documentary History." Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1991.
Reilly, Maura and Linda Nochlin. "Global Feminisms: New Directions in Contemporary Art." London and New York: Merrell Publishers, 2007.
Broude, Norma and Mary D. Garrard, eds. "Reclaiming Female Agency: Feminist Art History after Postmodernism." Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Evaluate methods of interpretation in relation to the analysis of women and the visual arts
  • Analyze theoretical issues relative to gender in humanistic and post-structuralist contexts relative to the visual arts
  • Assess the contributions of women artists throughout history
  • Examine social constraints unique to women artists, including exclusion from educational institutions and impediments to professional practice as a result of traditional perceptions of gender roles
  • Analyze representations of women, exploring historical and ongoing objectification of women's bodies

CSLOs

  • Students will analyze the social experiences of artists, demonstrating how artists' relationships with their patrons was a defining factor in the production of works of art.

  • Students will analyze the social experiences of artists, demonstrating how artists' relationships with their patrons was a defining factor in the production of works of art.

  • Students will demonstrate visual literacy and critical thinking skills by evaluating diverse scholarly perspectives when interpreting of works of art.

  • Students will demonstrate visual literacy and critical thinking skills by evaluating diverse scholarly perspectives when interpreting of works of art.

  • Students will investigate different techniques utilized in the production of works of art through written analysis based on firsthand evaluation of original art objects.

  • Students will investigate different techniques utilized in the production of works of art through written analysis based on firsthand evaluation of original art objects.

Outline

  1. Evaluate methods of interpretation in relation to the analysis of women and the visual arts
    1. Images, objects, and works of architecture as primary sources
    2. Texts as primary sources
    3. Methods of analysis
      1. Feminism
      2. Gender analysis
      3. Queer theory
      4. Psychoanalysis
      5. Postcolonial theory and colonial discourse analysis
      6. Marxism and World-Systems theory
      7. Eco-criticism and the environment
      8. Material culture
  2. Analyze theoretical issues relative to gender in humanistic and post-structuralist contexts relative to the visual arts
    1. Humanism and gender
      1. The concept of genius
      2. The "masterpiece"
      3. Authorship
        1. Roles of patrons
        2. Roles of biographers
    2. Post-structuralism and women artists
      1. Social status and classism
      2. Ethnicity and racism
      3. Gender and sexism
  3. Assess the contributions of women artists throughout history
    1. The professionalization of women artists
    2. Women artists as non-professional producers
    3. Women and patronage
    4. Women artists as activists and educators
  4. Examine social constraints unique to women artists, including exclusion from educational institutions and impediments to professional practice as a result of traditional perceptions of gender roles
    1. Education
      1. Workshop practices
      2. Guild systems
      3. Master/apprentice training
      4. Art academies
    2. Marriage and family
      1. Domestic partnerships vs. traditional gender roles
      2. Motherhood and art making
    3. The Body
      1. Transgender artists
      2. Pseudo-science and misperceptions about female creativity
  5. Analyze representations of women, exploring historical and ongoing objectification of women's bodies
    1. Ideal beauty and heteronormative male desire
      1. The female nude
      2. Elite patronage and erotic art
      3. Imperialism and exoticism
    2. Power and powerlessness
      1. Roles of women as "history" subjects
      2. Women and political portraiture
    3. Behavior and morality
      1. Goddesses, saints, and female virtue
      2. The repentant sinner
Back to Top