Monday, September 24, 2001

Art and Gender Converge in an Online Course at the U. of Oregon By BROCK READ Title: "Art and Gender" Institution: University of Oregon Instructor: Elizabeth Hoffman, an adjunct assistant professor of gender studies, art, and the environment Course content: Students taking the course discuss sociological and cultural mores that affect the roles of women and men in the art world. They also learn to comment on art from a gender-based perspective, with an emphasis on critical thinking. Topics of study include the body, fashion, pornography and erotic art, and traditional views of femininity and masculinity. How delivered: The course is broken up into 10 one-week units, each covering a new theme. Examples include "Access and Marginalization" and "The Gendered Landscape From the Green Man to Cyborg Culture." The course material is delivered through online lectures that include images of artworks and external links, and through a course packet that students must purchase from the university's bookstore. Each week, Ms. Hoffman posts assignment questions that ask students to respond to the lectures and readings -- and to one another -- through discussion boards. Course requirements: For a final project, each student is required to create a work of art, performance piece, or collection "that challenges our assumptions about art, artist, and/or the artistic process." In addition, each must submit a gender-based critique of an artist's work observed on an independent field trip to a museum. Ms. Hoffman also grades the course's "virtual activities" -- such as weekly assignments and participation in discussions. When offered: Summer and fall Enrollment: Class size is capped at 25 students. "I am more comfortable with smaller online classes, especially considering the nature of the subject matter," Ms. Hoffman says. Cost: $415 Unusual features: Most students take their independent field trips to museums, but some explore art in a less hallowed context, at Ms. Hoffman's encouragement. "I've had excellent papers with a number of foci, including a garden, car show, parade, gun show, quilting bee, and a Mary Kay cosmetics demonstration," she says. Instructor comment: Ms. Hoffman teaches versions of the course online and in a classroom. She says that online learning, while it has drawbacks, prompts high-quality discussions. "Discussion is controversial, lively, funny, sometimes heated," she says. "I have often found that students in on-site classes who are silent in class will participate actively in online discussions." URL: The course syllabus is available online at http://aad.uoregon.edu/distance_ed/aad252 Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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