We will dig deep to discover the army of women who were busy working in the shadow, while men happily bathed in the spotlight. Each week of this course will be devoted to a different area of study (history, science, art and literature). For example, in the area of science, it will be discovered how many women were actually behind some major inventions and discoveries. In literature, as well as looking at possible female ghost writers, we will also explore the female characters in novels who were lurking in the shadow and who were rarely granted heroine status.
- Women in Science & Innovation: Women’s contributions to science; Barriers to education, recognition, and authorship; How scientific credit has historically been assigned
- Women in Art & Cultural Production: Women artists working in the shadow of male contemporaries; Gender, creativity, and access to artistic institutions; How women’s artistic labour has been valued and remembered
- Power, Memory & Rewriting History: Why women’s histories disappear; Who writes history and whose voices remain; Social, political, and cultural forces shaping memory; Contemporary efforts to recover and reclaim women’s stories
- Women in the shadow of the Author and the Protagonist: Women ghost writers and “editors” excluded from the canon; Comparison of male and female protagonists
- Case studies: Marie Curie and lesser-known women scientists; Frida Kahlo and overlooked women artists; Trivialised women in literature who lurk in the heroine’s shadow
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Recognise women’s overlooked contributions across four disciplines
- Understand historical and social barriers faced by women
- Critically reflect on how history is recorded and remembered
- Engage in informed discussion about gender and representation
