Women's History Month: What's Happening in the Classroom?

MARCH is Women’s History Month

What's Happening In the Classroom?

Patriarchal Conditioning and Gender Programming

Upper School English teacher Kelly McDowell illustrates the themes focused on women's studies that her students are discussing.

In Ways of Knowing and Visual Culture, we are deeply considering the male gaze, the effects of patriarchal ideology, the perpetuation and maintenance of gender norms, and the internalization of ideals of femininity and beauty. In our pursuit, we are taking up questions such as: How do we internalize patriarchal conditioning and gender programming? Can women be a part of the patriarchy? Can men be feminists? 

 

In Ways of Knowing, we cover the history of the feminist movement, with a focus on the various waves of feminism as well as cultural dynamics. We consider their aims, gains, and blind spots (for instance, the exclusion of women of color, non-Western women, and LGBTQ individuals and communities as well as the formation of alternative movements by these communities). We also consider the ways in which the movement has been mainstreamed, popularized, trivialized, and co-opted throughout history. Our goal is to deepen our knowledge, inform relevant debates, and get a sense of the timeline and common threads throughout time and diverse cultures.

 

In Visual Culture, we focus our study on images -- both normative and non-normative or coercive and subversive. We consider the representation of women in classic art, modern art, advertising/consumer culture, and various forms of popular culture such as film, fashion, and video games. We also consider women as creators and consumers of images themselves and ask questions such as: Can women return the gaze? Here is an article that does a nice job of explaining the male gaze.