Masquerade and Metaphor

Winter 2012 quarter

Faculty

Ann Storey art history , Joli Sandoz academic and creative writing, U.S. literature, research methods in the humanities

Fields of Study

art history, gender and women's studies, literature and visual arts

Preparatory for studies or careers in

fine arts, education, writing, history, sociology, museum work

Description

Using masquerade as our primary metaphor, we will take an in-depth, interdisciplinary, and multicultural approach to the study of 20th-century history, art, and literary writing by women. Cultures construct gender expectations, in part through “scripts” of femininity in ways that serve a myriad of purposes; where people identifying as girls and women reject those preconceptions but also act within them, masquerade – the adoption of pretense or disguise – becomes an inevitable part of female lives.

Our work will center on studying women’s creative expression in both art and literature. We will also work with the medium of collage, make masks and use them in performance art pieces, and design and play gender-themed board games in class. The final project will be a research paper and presentation.

Guiding questions: How have people identifying as girls and women expressed, defied, and transformed constructions of femininity through their art and writing? What role does masquerade play not only in women’s survival, but their flourishing? How does women’s resistance help us transform ourselves?

Advertised Schedule

6-9:30p Tue/Thu

Location

Olympia

Online Learning

Enhanced Online Learning

Books

Greener Store

Special Expenses

$35 per quarter for art supplies and museum field trips

Offered During

Evening