ERIC Number: ED589606
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 127
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-1-3690-4528-4
ISSN: EISSN-
EISSN: N/A
The "F" Word: A Content Analysis of "Female" Artists in Art History Textbooks
Gustlin, Deborah Zoe
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Saint Mary's College of California
The number of women enrolled in college increasingly outpaces the number of men. In prominent art history textbooks, however, identified men artists far outnumber women. Feminist-inspired inquiry has highlighted this imbalance and historical content analysis of art history textbooks has shown small increases in inclusion of women artists over the last 80 years. In bringing such analysis up-to-date, this study's research questions were: "To what extent are female artists represented in six widely used art history textbooks? What is the ratio of the inclusion of female artists compared with male artists?" The textbooks were coded by enumerating plates and index mentions. During the coding process, additional categories of analysis beyond gender emerged: artists of color and artists of other than Euro-American ancestry. Overall, representations of women artists, whether in terms of artist-identified plates or mentions in indexes, account for only one-fifth of the total, a four-to-one ratio. Reasons for this disparity are examined as are the pedagogical implications of relying predominantly on male and Euro-American artists in teaching increasingly diverse college populations. Recommendations focus on the importance of revising curricula, textbooks, and pedagogical approaches in light of these findings. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Females, Artists, Art History, Textbooks, Textbook Content, Content Analysis, Higher Education, Disproportionate Representation
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A