GWSS/ANTH 235 A: Global Feminist Art
Autumn 2025 [syllabus pdf in Week 1 Module]
Time: MW 1:30-3:20
Classroom: Condon Hall 109
Instructor
Professor Sasha Su-Ling Welland (she/her)
Office/Student Hours: Thursdays 1:00-2:30
Office: Padelford Hall B-110 J (sign-up link)
Teaching Assistants
Dinka Benitez Piraino (she/her)
Marielle Marcaida (she/her)
Office/Student Hours: Mondays 11:00-12:00 and by appointment
TA Office: Padelford Hall B-111
Communication
To contact us, please send your message via Canvas Inbox. Every effort will be made to respond within 72 hours.
About the Course
Description
This course is jointly listed in the Departments of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies and Anthropology. It introduces feminism as a way of thinking about visual art practice in terms of social hierarchy, aesthetic form, and ideology. We explore how feminist artists working in diverse locations and cultural traditions challenge, at the local and global level, artistic conventions and representations of gender, sexuality, race, class, and nationality.
Feminist art cannot be classified as a style, like impressionism or cubism; nor is it bound to a particular medium, like painting or quilting; nor is it simply art by women. Feminist art challenges norms and conventions; it embraces multiple media; it critiques intersectional inequities rooted in gender, sexuality, race, class, and nationality; it proposes alternative ways of seeing the world. In other words, feminist art is a field of practice that critically and creatively examines the relationship between social hierarchy and aesthetic form.
This course takes that premise to the global level, asking: 1) How are social categories like gender and sexuality constructed in similar and different ways across cultures, as well as through transnational cultural encounters? 2) How does the work of feminist artists, critics, and curators respond to these powerful formations, which are shaped by local and global forces? Rather than assuming feminist art begins in the West, as certain origin stories and exhibits have suggested, we explore a history of artistic innovation and intervention emerging from and ranging across locations such as Beijing, Beirut, Havana, Johannesburg, Medellín, Mumbai, Tehran, and Tokyo.
The first weeks of the course address foundational questions such as “what is art,” “what is visual culture,” “what is feminism,” and “what is feminist art.” An overview of how art and feminist art in particular have been institutionalized focuses our attention on critical sight lines blocked by canon formation. After that, each week of the course presents a case study introducing students to debates about gender, sexuality, nation, and artistic representation grounded in specific cultural, historical, and political contexts. With this background as interpretive lens, we then explore the work of specific artists and the configurations of power that their artistic practices challenge. An emphasis throughout on feminist transnationality (what it means to move across and unsettle rather than be contained by borders) unsettles static understandings of gender, culture, and identity.
For GWSS Majors & Minors: This class fulfills the Transnational Perspective requirement.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of the quarter, students should be able to:
- Examine feminist/queer art as a creative practice that responds to relations of power.
- Differentiate how social-cultural location and historical context shape artistic visions and challenges to structures of power.
- Describe and analyze artworks (and visual culture at large) in terms of visual form.
- Interpret artworks, artists, and art movements in relation to the social-culture, political, and economic contexts in which they are created and viewed, using key concepts in the field of gender, women, and sexuality studies.
- Draw connections among a set of artworks (i.e. curate) to develop an argument and design an exhibit.
For more details on specific skills associated with each of these outcomes, see the Learning Outcomes & Skills Building page in the Week 1 Module. These skills can be applied in a wide range of majors and careers, as well as in navigating everyday life.
MATERIALS & PROCEDURE
There is no textbook for this course. All materials are available via Canvas, arranged by weekly modules. These materials range from academic articles and book chapters to exhibit catalogue essays, artist interviews, and videos. A complete bibliography of materials is included in the Week 1 module, along with this pdf version of the syllabus. To prepare for each class meeting (2 x week), you'll be expected to read approximately 30 pages, sometimes in combination with audio-visual materials. (This load corresponds with weekly reading expectations for 200-level courses in the GWSS department.)
Additional Materials: One spiral-bound pack of index cards, like this kind available at the University Book Store, or your preferred equivalent. You will use these cards for submitting Exit Tickets with jottings/queries during some classes; for exchanging ideas with peers in small groups; for “pen(cil) on paper” sensory note taking when looking at art; and for storyboarding your final project, an exhibit design/curatorial proposal.
While this course is lecture-based, it is designed to actively engage students in developing and sharpening their skills: before, during, and after class. Entry Ticket and Close Looking assignments submitted before class, as indicated in the weekly modules, prime you to arrive ready to look, think, discuss, and learn together in the classroom, in smaller and larger groups. We will break up the lecture format with these active, low-stakes modes of engagement and expansion of knowledge. For example, here is one observation a student made at the end of this course the last time I taught it:
“I learned to appreciate the practice of in-depth analysis of artworks. It was interesting to see how far you can take the interpretation of an artwork through close looking, attention to detail, and layering of perspectives brought to the act of looking by different viewers.”
Weekly Previews/Overviews: These will be included in each weekly module, with key concepts and background material, such as social-historical context for artists and artworks we will focus on that week, along with a slide deck of artworks shown in lecture. If there are follow-up notes to in-class questions or discussion or additional artwork slides, these will be uploaded by the end of each week.
ASSIGNMENTS & EVALUATION
Each student’s performance will be evaluated as follows:
Formative Assessments (20%):
Entry Tickets: 8%
Close Looking: Image Annotations: 6%
Exit Tickets: 6%
Summative Assessments (80%):
In-Class Exam: 25%
Visual Analysis Paper: 20%
Curatorial Project/Exhibition Proposal: 35%
Grading Criteria:
4.0 – achievement outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements
3.0 – achievement significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements
2.0 – achievement meeting the basic course requirements in every respect
1.0 – achievement worthy of credit that does not meet basic course requirements
The GWSS grade scale is included in the Resources module. Incomplete grades may only be awarded if a student is doing satisfactory work to within three weeks of the last day of the quarter and if circumstances prevent the student from completing the remaining work for the course by the end of the quarter. More information on the UW Incomplete Grade Policy, including a link to the Incomplete Grade Request form that must be submitted, is available on here on the Registrar’s website.
Entry Tickets – 6 out of 7 possible @ 1 point each; week 8 required @ 2 points – 8 points total
These homework assignments are low-stakes, low-stress opportunities for you to share: 1) what you learned from a particular reading or film and want to discuss more; and 2) anything you found confusing and have questions about. Doing these assignments will help you delve into the readings, get more out of lectures and group discussions, and prepare for the summative assignments. They will be available in Canvas in the weekly modules, as either a “quiz” or a “discussion board,” with a prompt (or a set of prompts for you to choose from) for you to respond to in short essay form (100-150 words). Your responses will be due before class, after which the assignment will close, so please keep track of these dates in Canvas. There will be 7 possible 1-point Entry Tickets throughout the quarter; you can do them all but will only receive points for 6 of them. The Entry Ticket for Week 8 is required and worth 2 points; as preparation for your final project, this “ticket” asks you to go see art in person (multiple opportunities on and off campus will be shared) and reflect on what you learned about curatorial strategies.
Close Looking: Image Annotations – 6 out of 7 possible @ 1 points each – 6 points total
These exercises in close looking will help you focus on a particular artwork, to develop your descriptive vocabulary and sharpen interpretive skills. We will use the Hypothes.is tool integrated in Canvas, which allows for social annotation of a selected image; prompts for each image will help you get started. A demo will be given in class on the first day. Using this tool, you can drop a pin or select an area of the image and then provide an annotation—an observation, a comment, an interpretation, or a question—that draws attention to a particular detail. You will also be able to view annotations made on the same image by peers in your “close looking” group and even add an annotation/response to another student’s annotation. There will be 7 possible 1-point Close Looking assignments throughout the quarter; you can do them all but will only receive points for 6 of them. They will be due before class, after which the assignment will close, so please keep track of these dates in Canvas.
Exit Tickets – 6 out of 7 possible @ 1 points each – 6 points total
These assignments are another low-stakes, low-stress opportunities for you to share: 1) what you learned from the lecture or in-class discussions or ideas they sparked for you; and 2) anything you found confusing and want to understand better. You will write each Exit Ticket in class on an index card (see additional materials above) and can experiment with including sketches, doodles, mind/concept maps alongside your textual response. You will submit your card to a TA as you leave the classroom. Doing these assignments will help you reflect more deeply on lectures and small/large group discussions, “priming the canvas” for the summative assignments. There will be 7 possible 1-point Exit Tickets throughout the quarter; you can do them all but will only receive points for 6 of them. We will return your “deck of cards” to you toward the end of the quarter (Week 9 or 10).
Back-up Plan: We understand that illness and other unexpected absences from class happen. If you miss an Exit Ticket opportunity, you can make it up by: 1) coming to office/student hours (see sign-up link above) to chat with the instructor or TA about your biggest take-away from a particular reading or artwork, or about lingering questions; or 2) doing the same by sending us a Canvas message with your thoughts/questions for the week. Please make up a missed Exit Ticket as soon as possible; don’t let them pile up and try to make them all up at the end of the quarter. Any make-up Exit Tickets must be submitted by the end of Week 9 (Nov. 21).
In-Class Exam – graded on 100-point scale, 25% of course grade
This exam, held in class on Monday, 10/27, will assess comprehension of materials covered during Weeks 1-5 and help you solidify your understanding of key concepts and frameworks as a foundation for the more critical and creative assignments that follow. It will be a closed-book exam: you will receive a sheet of questions and a “blue book” (provided for you) in which you will handwrite your answers. You will have the full class period, 1:30-3:20, to complete the exam so that you can take your time to think, compose your answers, and write as legibly as possible. Part 1 of the exam will consist of five short-essay questions (10 points each). For Part 2 of the exam, a slide with several captioned artworks will be projected, and you will be asked to choose two of them as the basis for a longer essay (50 points), in which you draw out connections between your selected artworks and, using key course concepts, interpret new lines of meaning and inquiry that emerge when they are viewed together. A study guide will be provided.
Visual Analysis Paper – 20% of course grade
The research and writing you do for this paper enable you to explore art and ideas you are interested in. It will also serve as the first foundational step for your final assignment, a curatorial proposal for a “dream feminist art exhibition.” This writing exercise (1,000 words) asks you to: 1) select one artwork you learned about through course materials as an “anchor” for further inquiry; 2) seek out and research an artist not included in course materials, whose work relates in some way with your first “anchor” artwork; 3) describe, contextualize, and interpret these two artworks, creating connections between them and to key course concepts and frameworks. A Canvas course page on research resources, a resource guide created by UW librarians specifically for this class, and a presentation by UW Art Librarian Madison Sullivan on “How to Research and Write about Art” will support your work on this assignment. Think of it as an exercise in practicing feminist scholarship, ways of seeing, and methods of interpretation. Think of it also as a creative experiment in crafting a visual essay, in which the words you write deepen your understanding of the image and the art you focus on influences the way you write. You are highly encouraged to make an appointment at the GWSS-supported Writing Center for assistance at any stage of writing, from brainstorming to outlining to revising.
Curatorial Project – 35% of course grade
For your final assignment, you will conceptualize and develop a detailed proposal for a “dream feminist art exhibition” that includes at least 4 artists, including the 2 artists you chose to focus on in your visual analysis paper. While you will need to include a minimum of 4 artworks, the total number will depend on your design decisions, including the exhibition space. Your proposal will include a title, location, 500-word rationale/curatorial statement, an industry-standard checklist of included works, and an installation design. It will be accompanied by a 500-word reflection on the course materials you drew upon to develop your exhibition pitch and what you learned from this project, supported by a works cited page for these and other sources consulted for your research. More detailed information and examples will be provided in class during Week 8. We will use class time during week 11 for small group peer review of draft proposals and sharing out of project connections, highlights, and reflections.
Extra Credit
You can get 2 points of extra credit by going to see art “in real life,” such as an exhibition currently on view or an artist talk (e.g. visiting artist Chloë Bass, who as noted in the course schedule, will come to UW campus for a series of events this fall). Further suggestions are listed on the Seattle Museums & Art Resources page in Canvas; please feel free to let us know about other opportunities we should include. Submit a photo of yourself at the exhibit/event along with a 250-word personal reflection on a particular artwork (use your close looking skills!), the curatorial strategy you observed, or any other takeaways relevant to the course and your learning in it. Please don’t phone this writing in by just copying the exhibit text or using ChatGPT. You can submit up to 2 extra credit assignments, for a maximum of 4 points. You cannot use the same exhibit visit as the one done for your Week 8 (2 point) Entry Ticket.
Course and UW Policies & Resources
Please see the Resource Module for links to learning responsibilities, course-specific resources, and UW policies and resources.