Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Women, Art and Society, 4th or 5th ed. by Whitney Chadwick (required)

The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art, by the Guerrilla Girls (optional)

gain a broader view of art history and understand the context(s) in which women have made art.

have been introduced to creative women who have lived in times both like and unlike our own.

encounter ideas and approaches to art-making that may spark your own creative process.

become familiar with analytical tools and terminology that can enhance your ability to engage with what you see (both in art and in life) and to communicate your understanding and experience to others.

understand how the rise of feminism and greater freedoms for women in Western society have reshaped the narrative of traditional art history and have also sparked new ways of looking at and evaluating works of art.

see how globalization has affected the kind of art being made by women and its reception on an international stage.

recognize formal qualities in art and read visual elements, artistic and cultural styles, and symbols

view works of art “dynamically,” that is, to appreciate and communicate simultaneously individual viewer response, the uniqueness of a work, its origins and precedent, its potential as an inspiration and influence on later art, and its relationship to a particular cultural moment

decipher content and meaning of works made by women artists through understanding of historical, social, cultural, economic, and political contexts

use an understanding of feminist critique in art work and in the history of art to apply theoretical approaches of gender, race, and class to works of art made by women

adapt theoretical approaches and course content to other art not covered in the course so that you may understand and value art made by women in all-encompassing global ways