For decades, feminist film theorists, art historians, and media scholars have been obsessed with an idea: the concept of the “male gaze.” But what exactly is the “male gaze”? The concept was famously articulated and defined by Laura Mulvey in the mid-1970s. Since then, interventions into debates about the gaze by black and queer scholars—such as bell hooks and Jack Halberstam—have problematized theorizing it solely around questions of gender. So, is the concept of the “male gaze” still relevant? 
 
This course will introduce students to key debates in feminist film theory, art history, and media studies—all disciplines that center around viewing practices and the ways we look at images. It will consider the ways in which the gaze of the viewer is informed by multiple and intersecting vectors of identity, through a variety of media that spans: narrative and experimental feature-length films, shorts, documentaries, animation, and video art. The course will be global in scope and incorporate the study of artists and filmmakers such as: Sharon Hayes, Cheryl Dunye, Lizzie Borden, the Yugantar Film Collective, Chantal Akerman, Ngozi Onwurah, Julie Dash, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Greta Gerwig, and Cauleen Smith. 
 

Location

Online Room 31 (ASE) (MTWR 2:00PM - 4:40PM)