Women As Art/Women As Artists

Catalog description

Working with the subject/object distinction made in the visual arts by thinkers like John Berger and Laura Mulvey, this class begins by examining texts in which women are portrayed as beautiful objects, then moves to texts in which women create their own artworks. In all of these works, questions of power, agency, and creativity are central. We will read novels such as Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Mary Gordon's Spending, along with A.S. Byatt's The Matisse Stories and a number of other short works. The course also includes art history relevant to the works being studied, and when possible, visits by artists and a trip to museums in New York City. English majors: this counts as a Topics course. Fulfills: 300-level elective requirement.