Feminist and Cross-Cultural Readings of Women’s Arts and Literature - Einzelansicht

How do visual arts and literature convey new meanings of sex, body, identity and sexuality? In this course, the participants will learn how feminist literary criticism and queer theories can be used to interpret multiple works of art and literature created by female writers and artists. Through the application of the feminist philosophy, they will explore the concept of the rebellious gaze both as readers and as viewers of various selected literary and artistic works created by many female writers and artists who come from different races and cultures and who challenge the domineering representations of the female body and sexuality. The selected works encompass diverse modes of thinking, writing, doing and being. A large number of disciplines will be included, such as visual arts, literary arts and performing arts. In addition to providing a general overview about the feminist theories, the course will use these theories to interpret poetry, short stories, songs, films, documentaries, interviews, T.V. programs, cartoons, photographs, fine arts and films from cross-cultural feminist perspectives.

The aim of my proposed course is to provide participants with a general introduction about the feminist philosophy and a comprehensive knowledge about women’s arts and literature. What it means to be a female poet, writer, artist, singer, actress and photographer in male-dominated cultures is a key question in this course which reveals the challenges that usually face most female artists and writers in patriarchal societies. The social, economic, political, and cultural dimensions of sex and gender will be addressed. The course engages with key theoretical debates in the field, such as the queer theory; and the philosophical, sociological, and feminist conceptualization of gender, sex, and sexuality. A connection will be made between the feminist theories and the way they can be used to re-read women’s artistic and literary achievements from cross-cultural perspectives. Reference will be made to the theoretical texts of Simone de Beauvoir, Nancy Chodorow, Alicia Ostriker, Judith Butler, Helen Cixous, Luce Irigaray, Julia Kristeva, Mary Daly, Gayatry Spivak and Monique Wittig.

The course explores women’s literary and artistic works and their different races, ages, sexualities and cultural backgrounds. My focus will be culturally diverse. Hence, I will read and analyze a wide selection of poems, songs, films, pictures, photographs and short stories created by various African, American, Arab, English, Indian, Irish, Mexican, Portuguese, Swedish, and Turkish female poets, writers and artists. Since the language of the course is English, most of the selected written texts are either written in English or have been translated into English. A thorough light will be shed on women’s literary and artistic creations from a feminist, lesbian and cross-cultural perspective. The philosophical concepts and themes discussed provide tools to compare the positions of women in various cultures and to increase awareness of the problems that continue to face many women worldwide.

The course will familiarize participants with many feminist voices and will certainly enable participants to comprehend the multiplicity of female voices, their various ways of self-expression. The course promotes the development of critical thinking on the part of participants as it provides them with the chance to apply some key concepts in the feminist philosophy, to analyze many texts, to present their own views and to recognize some of the limitations of modernist and post-modernist discourses. In short, the course will introduce the attendants to many feminist theories, and it will consequently enable them to cross the borders of cultures and to read, criticize and re-interpret the creative expressions of women from new perspectives. Thus, the participants will have the opportunity to acquire a broad, interdisciplinary and cross-cultural understanding of women’s arts and literature.

This course if offered in cooperation with Off-University. Teaching is online only.

course reading will be made available on off university's e-teaching space 'coworkingsquares'.

This course will be taught online in sychronous live teaching sessions in collaboration with off university on Thursdays, 16-18.

Once you are successfully enrolled for this course in PULS, you will receive directions how to enroll for this course at off university's 'coworkingsquares'.

short essay(s) (1000 words)

depending on study programme, (optional in the Modernities MA) long term paper (5-7000 words).