Course Syllabus

A History of Women in 50 Images

Prof. Nefeli Misuraca

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Presupposing previous knowledge in theories and practices of art history, no particular familiarity
with sociology or anthropology, the course will outline how the portrayal of the female body,
idealized or realistic, has changed through history and has changed, in turn, art, culture and history
itself. The idea of “woman” will be investigated through its many representations, in art and in
media, outlining the way they inform communication of content in different times and different
cultures. The course will be a theoretical journey from the still seminal linear and painterly distinction
by Heinrich Wölfflin through to the roller-coaster of theories that permeated the 20th Century, with
special attention to Lévi-Strauss, Aby Warburg, Jean Baudrillard and Judith Butler. Panofsky and
Derrida will be featured as examples of opposite sides of a similar approach. A special lesson will
be dedicated to Man and the Sacred by Roger Caillois and its influence on the contemporary concept
of the female body.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
The course will expose students to the abovementioned theories in art history, and to parallel
approaches in sociology and anthropology (from Hauser to Auerbach) that have informed our
contemporary approach to image decoding. A particular accent will be given on the differences in
representing a woman’s body when an artist is male or female. My course on Anthropology of Art
at La Sapienza University (and my experience at the Yale Center for British Art) is the background
for this course outline. But where the former revolved around the concept of the sacred, and
therefore analyzed the representations of the female body as a symbol of such cultural construct,
the latter aims at a close investigation on how our ability to decode form and structure, both in art
and in media production has changed in the last 150 years. A special week will be devoted to the
beheading of Beatrice Cenci, an act that, in 1599 truly signaled the start of the Baroque. Her many
representations in art, including ones from Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi and Guido Reni made
of this teenager a symbol of the artists' struggle during the Counter-Reformation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will learn to look at artworks through the multiple lenses of the sociological,
anthropological and contemporary criticism approaches. Through the close examination of art in
history, students will learn how our evaluation and interpretation of a work of art is influenced by
cultures, politics and theories.
Students will develop crucial tools and abilities for their future in the art and in the media job market.

Required readings:
Book Title Author
Mimesis (excerpts) Erich Auerbach
Man and the Sacred (excerpts) Roger Caillois

TEXTBOOK:
The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology (Oxford
History of Art) Donald Preziosi