Handbook home
Sexing the Canvas: Art and Gender (GEND20006)
Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5Not available in 2021
Please refer to the return to campus page for more information on these delivery modes and students who can enrol in each mode based on their location.
Overview
Fees | Look up fees |
---|
What do pictures want in relation to sex and sexuality? How is art gendered? How do painters use the materiality of oil on canvas to make gendered critiques of the history of art and its cultures? Structured around the rich collections of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), each class will focus upon a specific work considering what insights a gendered analysis of it can provide. Lectures will be delivered in front of the paintings in situ in the gallery. Curatorial and expert academic staff from the NGV and the University of Melbourne will provide the lectures which will address a range of works drawn from the 18th century to the present. We will consider how gender, sex and sexuality impact on both the production and the reception of art and how artists utilise sexual codes at specific historical moments. Themes surrounding discourse, equality, ideology, and protest, will be addressed. We will consider how curatorial practises reinforce sexual difference through considering the artworks currently on display and how these produce meaning when they are taken as an aggregate in the context of an exhibition. We will study how works are conceptually framed by the information that the gallery provides about them through audio-guides, catalogue entries, hanging, and labelling. The subject will introduce you to key ideas from a number of thinkers including Judith Butler, Barbara Creed, Julia Kristeva, Luce Irigiary, Michele Foucault, W.J.T.Mitchell, Nicholas Chare, Svetlana Alpers, Michael Baxandall, Lynda Nead, Fred Orton, Griselda Pollock, Carol Duncan and Lisa Tickner.
Intended learning outcomes
On successful completion of this subject, students should have:
- an understanding of key terms from gender-related theories of art history and museology;
- the ability to demonstrate various ways in which ideas about gender theory can productively be employed in theorizing curatorial practices;
- the skills and confidence to take the initiative in relating theoretical ideas covered in the subject to the display of art and visual cultures;
- learnt how to organize material into coherent and convincing arguments in their written work; and
- the ability to foster close reading skills in relation to both texts and images.
Generic skills
At the completion of this subject, students should gain the following generic skills:
- learn to be skilled in critical thinking and analysis;
- cultivate oral and written communication skills;
- develop an understanding of cultural and social contexts;
- become skilled at managing time and resources effectively.
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Assessment
Description | Timing | Percentage |
---|---|---|
A tutorial presentation
| During the teaching period | 40% |
An essay
| During the examination period | 60% |
Hurdle requirement: This subject has a minimum hurdle requirement of 80% attendance and regular participation in tutorials. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Additional details
Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day.
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Dates & times
Not available in 2021
Time commitment details
170 hours
Last updated: 11 April 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
A Subject Reader will be available.
- Related Handbook entries
This subject contributes to the following:
Type Name Major Art History Major Gender Studies - Breadth options
This subject is available as breadth in the following courses:
- Bachelor of Design
- Bachelor of Environments
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts (Theatre)
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
This subject is available to students studying at the University from eligible overseas institutions on exchange and study abroad. Students are required to satisfy any listed requirements, such as pre- and co-requisites, for enrolment in the subject.
Last updated: 11 April 2024