Università Roma Tre

Gender studies and art history: methodological issues and case studies
The publication of Linda Nochlin’s seminal essay Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? in the January 1971 issue of “ArtNews” is generally considered the inaugural event of gender studies in art history. Released in full consonance with the rise of the feminist movement in the United States, and soon translated into Italian, Nochlin’s article remains a capital text, and an excellent introduction to an art history aware both of gender differences and of their political character. However, it is not entirely accurate to ascribe it to gender studies, if only because the concept of gender was not used in the humanities until the 1980s, first in anthropological and historical studies, then in philosophical reflection.
Starting from this aporia, the course aims to analyze the constitution of the field of gender studies in art history, investigate its main methodological issues and verify its assumptions on a series of case studies selected mainly, but not exclusively, within a chronology coinciding with the spread of feminist movements in Italy and Western countries.

Linda Nochlin's article was recently republished: 'Why have there been no great women artists?', Thames & Hudson, London 2021.
The complete reading list will be provided at the beginning of the course.