By the end of this course, the student will be able to:
- Explain and apply the concept of gender to the study of art and culture using the theoretical approaches provided;
- Analyze and critically assess the representation of gender in media, art, and culture from an interdisciplinary perspective;
- Recognize and evaluate the role of gender in the production and reception of media, art, and culture using the conceptual and theoretical frameworks provided;
- Reflect on the role of gender in knowledge production and identity formation from an intersectional perspective;
- Conduct and report on an academically sound research project
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This course offers an introduction to cultural gender studies, focusing specifically on the role of gender in media, art, and culture. Gender studies investigates the socio-cultural meanings attributed to sexual difference and explores the complex interaction of gender with other identity markers, such as race, class, and sexuality. Masculinity and femininity are not fixed but rather are constantly (re)produced; the arts, the media, and popular culture play an important role in this process. How do representations of masculinity and femininity relate to each other and what impact do other factors affecting identity, such as ethnicity, sexuality, and religion, have on these representations? Is there a feminine, trans, or queer aesthetic? What role does gender play in the production and reception of art and culture and how might we account for the intersection of numerous axes of difference and inequality that shape the experience of gender? Addressing these and other questions, this course engages with literature, music, theatre, film, media, and visual arts, and reflects on some of the key cultural theories and debates surrounding the relationship between gender, culture, and identity.
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Knowledge from the course Cultural Theory or the theme course of the minor Gender and Diversity will be assumed in the course Gender and the Arts. If you have completed neither of these courses before beginning Gender and the Arts, it is recommended that you read the following very interesting, short and affordable books:
- Catherine Belsey. Poststructuralism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford UP, 2002. ISBN: 9780192801807. OR Jonathan Culler. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (Second Edition). Oxford UP, 2011. ISBN: 9780199691340.
- Robert J.C. Young. Postcolonialism: A Very Short Introduction (Second Edition). Oxford UP, 2020. ISBN: 9780198856832.
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Although this course is categorised as 'lecture'/'hoorcollege', the work in our classroom will consist largely in larger- and smaller-group discussions.
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