WGSS 66.08 Self, Subject, Photography
Before the oft-reproduced social-media mechanism of the selfie, there existed (and still does) the artistic self-portrait. Utilized in the creative realm to create a representation of the artist as both subject and object, self-portraits can be whimsical, grim, tantalizing, performative, or combative. In this course we will examine gendered constructions of self- portraiture as they exist in poetry, memoir, and photography. Specifically, our task will be to examine the registers of possibility present when women use their bodies and stories to claim authorial space. Our goal during the term will be to think through all of the mechanisms of the self that are deployed in the context of artistic practice. Students will produce their own photographic self- portraits and write an analytical paper on a contemporary writer or visual artist.
Cross Listed Courses
AAAS 67.09 ENGL 63.29