ARHI-267 : Black Women in Visual Culture

This course will explore the relationship between Black women and visual culture, putting particular emphasis on the fine arts, film, the music industry, mass media, and gaming culture. Each of these forms of visual culture depends on the construction of women as visual objects through "the gaze," which contributes to formulations of sexuality, gender, race and nation. We will explore several theories of "the gaze" and its means of producing modern identities. Various critical questions will be raised in the course during the semester: How does the visual differ from other forms of representation when it comes to portraying women and/or gendered "others"? Can women's bodies in visual culture function outside patriarchal discourse? Can "the male gaze" be disrupted or redirected when women themselves are creating their own images?