Women in the Literary and Visual Arts
Humanities 4413
Fall 2006
T-TR 12:30-1:45 pm
BH 107
Office: BH 204C Office: BH 106
Phone: 918-343-7593 Phone: 918-343-7744
Email: lgray@rsu.edu Email: gmoeller@rsu.edu
Office Hours: Office Hours:
M/W 10-11; 1-3 M 9-11; 2-4
T/TR 9:30-11:00 T/TR 8:30-10:30
F 10-11 W 9-11
RSU Catalog Description
HUM 4413 Women in Literary and Visual Arts
An interdisciplinary study of the literary and artistic productions of women in Western culture. Considers relevant issues including, but not limited to, gendered productions, socio–historical contexts, and critical theory. Prerequisites: HUM 2113, HUM 2223, and ENGL 1213.
In this course we will examine, discuss, analyze, and evaluate poetry, fiction, prose, and visual art forms produced by women, medieval to the present. Students will also be able to create their own pieces that reference areas studied.
Students will:
Student involvement is paramount in this class. We will provide structure, guidance, some lecture materials, and will evaluate your performances, written, visual, and oral. We will look to each of you, however, to interpret and assign meaning to the assigned works, lead in classroom discussion, both formally and informally, and significantly add to the ongoing discussions at hand by introducing other works and ideas to the framework provided. For that reason, reading or viewing the assigned works is merely the starting point in your weekly preparation. You must consider how each work adds to our understanding of women in the literary and visual arts, and contribute meaningfully to the understandings we will build throughout the term.
Discussion and Attendance 40%
Projects (including drafts and works-in-progress) 30%
Final Project/Paper/Presentation or Exam 30%
All student work will be held to the following academic criteria:
Accuracy of information
Organization and clarity of thoughts
Depth of critical thinking and observation
Satisfaction of defined requirements (deadlines, etc.)
Acceptable writing mechanics
Fidelity of work (no plagiarism, cheating, etc.)
Evidence of creative or innovative thinking
Effective cooperative learning
90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
Below F
Student Conduct
In order for this class to succeed, we must foster an environment conducive to free and open exchange of ideas and opinions. To ensure that each student has this opportunity, each of us must respect every student’s right to meaningfully contribute to the current discussions at hand. In this class, we will explore many sensitive topics, including gendered politics, sexuality, and religion and spirituality. At times, we may read literature and view art that may go against the sensibilities or beliefs of some students. Such is the nature of liberal education and exploration of thought. While each student is expected to contribute honestly and fully to all discussions, no overtly hostile, sexist, racist, or other xenophobic language or behavior will be tolerated.
Learning is a collaborative process. Each student has an important and unique role in this class and should be prepared to contribute fully throughout the semester. We expect each of you to be present at every class meeting, fully prepared to discuss the scheduled assignments. Missing two or more class meetings will severely jeopardize your performance and grade in this class. Arriving late, leaving early, sleeping in class, talking out of turn, or other disruptive behavior interferes with the learning experience of every student and, therefore, will not be tolerated. (See “Participating in Seminars” handout)
Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty. Plagiarism is representing someone else's ideas or work as your own. To avoid plagiarism, when you use someone else's data, arguments, designs, words, ideas, project, etc., you must make it clear that the work originated with someone else by citing the source. Please review the Student Code of Responsibilities and Conduct published by Rogers State University for a full discussion of “Code of Academic Conduct” and plagiarism penalties. A link to the “Code” is on the RSU web site. No forms of plagiarism will be tolerated in this class.
If you have special physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities, please let us know immediately so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. You will need to provide documentation to the office of Student Relations, Prep. Hall 110.
Computers are available in the UPA, Stratton Taylor Library, and Student Support Services. Computers are available for class use in BH 207.
The schedule and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.
THIS IS A SENOR LEVEL COURSE (**Prerequisites: Hum I, Hum II, and Comp II)
Week One
Introduction and Project One
-Introduction
Primarily, this course is about you and your response to materials you read, artwork you view and discussions you have with the students and faculty in the class. Whether you study and create to find yourself (your identity) or to loose yourself in some collective gender/collegial means of thought, your reactions to the essential questions raised by the course are critical to the goal of learning.
What are your re-actions and responses to visual and written examples of women’s creative works? Why study these pieces mostly separated from those of men? What unique perspectives and issues can women contribute to art and culture? Why have the objects and ideas of women been understated historically? These and many off-shoot questions will be addressed during the course.
Again, the important result of this will be your own verbal, written and creative responses to what you read, see and discuss while working on this course. One obvious aspect of this process will be that you and all your classmates are required to discuss the work we address in the course. (See “Participating in Seminars”)
Note: Please do not underestimate the need for your involvement in each subject discussion. Your instructors insist on discussion involvement from every student in the course. This is your opportunity to express yourself freely and to be rewarded for it. Although we ask you to respect the views and situations of your class colleagues, please do not censor your comments about the subject matter. Take notes on all discussions.
Also, as a student in this course you will have the opportunity to create written and visual art that relate to a personal understanding of the subject. You will be asked to respond to an area of study by writing a creative piece or analysis, or an example of visual art. These will become subjects to further enhance class discussion and to help you better learn how you relate to the subject.
-Project One
Create an Intellectual Biography. This can be written, visual or a combination of the two. This is about who you are in creative and academic terms. Bring this, as a most likely work-in-progress, to the second class meeting as a means of introduction.
-Readings for Week Two Discussions.
Read the handout on Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party and Chapter 12, Feminist Art in North America and Great Briton, in Chadwick. Find a related written work that reflects some of the aspects found in the Dinner Party in the Longman Anthology.
Prepare a discussion in outline form.
Week Two
Continued discussion of individual creative responses, intellectual biographies (works-in progress), and readings.
Everyone will discuss the first set of readings and share their biographies.
-Readings for Week Three
Cynthia Freeland, But Is It Art?
Engendering Language, Silence and Voice (page 1-14) in Longman.
Week Three – Gender Issues
Discussion of readings from week two with a turn toward how women address male dominated history and society. How do individual women artists and writers approach this subject? Provide examples. What about the tactics of the Guerrilla Girls? How does Virginia Woolf deal with this? What other works can be cited?
-Readings for Week Four
Longman-
Anonymous, The Wife’s Lament
Elizabeth I
bell hooks
Sojourner Truth
Chadwick-
The Other Renaissance
Sex, Class and Power in Victorian England.
Prepare for discussion.
Week Four – Creative Works by Women. Identity and Social Conditions.
Final Critique of Intellectual Bios.
Discussion of week three readings.
-Project Two
Creative piece that addresses your perception of the opposite sex or different sexual orientations.
-Readings to Continue This Subject Into Week Five.
Longman-
Trinh T. Minh-Ha
Oodgeroo of the Tribe Noonuccal
Joy Harjo
Chadwick-
Gender, Race and Modernism after the Second World War
Week Five – (continued subject)
Discussion of readings
Check project progress
-Readings for Week Six
At this point in the course, take a moment to process all that has been studied and discussed. Look back at your outlines and discussion notes. Jot down questions or directions of thought raised by your reflections. Determine which direction we should next go in terms of our study. Defend your determinations in class discussion. Find new readings and artworks to support your argument.
Here is a list of possible areas we may not have addressed fully to this point.
-The Body
-Beauty
-The marketing of the Female Image
-The Divine Goddess
-Maternity
-Female Powers/Weaknesses (actual or perceived)
-Further Identities through Creative Works
-others?
Weeks Six through Fourteen
We will continue the pattern of student driven study and discussion established in week five.
-Project Three
This is a free creative work of importance to your final presentation. The only requirements are that the project combines both writing and visual art and that it somehow demonstrates a true culmination of what you have learned in the course. The project is due on week fifteen with works-in-progress checks conducted on weeks eight, ten and twelve. You must be able to offer a cognitively explanation of the project at finals.
Week Fifteen and Sixteen
Final presentation/project