Short course
A ‘Herstory’ of Art: Discovering Women Artists
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Location:
Online
Dates and time:
16/09/2026 - 25/11/202616:00 - 17:00
Study format:
Online - live
Fees:
£430.00
'Why have there been no great women artists?' is the title of a now-famous article written by feminist art historian Linda Nochlin in 1971. The provocative piece pointed to – and sought to examine – the structural inequities and unspoken conditions of production underlying art and its histories. It addressed generations of art historians, curators, teachers, and textbook writers (such as HW Janson, author of the canonical A History of Art), whose grand surveys of art, ancient to modern, included barely, if any, women, on the basis that they either did not exist or were not worthy of critical attention.
This course will examine art production through the lens of the lives and work of women artists across centuries (and, where possible, geographies, though the course will focus mostly on Europe and North America), including famous figures such as Artemesia Gentileschi and lesser-known pathbreakers such as Hilma af Klint (the true pioneer of abstraction?). It will also address artists such as Zanele Muholi, who challenges received conventions around the construction of sexuality, race, and gender. Together we will examine the social, economic, religious, and political conditions under which women have always made art, yet have been largely marginalised in its formal histories, institutions, and markets. We will discuss women’s strategies around artistic production, their relationships to art institutions, social and institutional change, and consider questions of (in)visibility, recognition, reception, and reevaluation. And, we’ll reflect on “how far we’ve come” on the back of a 2022 YouGov survey revelation that 70% of the British population still cannot name three women artists.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
This course begins on the 16 Sep 2026, which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting, which will be held on 23 Sep 2026, 16:00-17:00 (UK time).
Week 1: Why Have there Been no Great Women Artists? (1971): An Introduction to the Feminist History of Art
Week 2: Women Artists and Early Modern Europe: Plautilla Nelli, Caterina van Hemessen, Sofinisba Anguissola
Week 3: Visibility and Erasure in the Baroque: Artemesia Gentileschi, Judith Leyster, Rachel Ruysch
Week 4: Rococo Leaders: Rosalba Carriera, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Angelica Kauffman
Week 5: Gendering Impressionism: Berthe Morisot, Marie Bracquemond
Week 6: Modernity, Motherhood, and Mass Culture: Mary Cassatt, Elizabeth Nourse
Week 7: Training the Woman Artist: The Académie Julian
Week 8: Modern Art and Abstraction: Hilma af Klint, Georgia O’Keeffe, Lee Krasner, Helen Frankenthaler, Sonia Delaunay
Week 9: The Body, Performance, and Institutional Critique: Ana Mendieta, Marina Abramović, Carolee Schneemann, Guerrilla Girls, Carrie Mae Weems
Week 10: Global Contemporary Practices: Kara Walker, Zanele Muholi, Lubaina Himid, Shirin Neshat
Course aims
Through the work of both well- and lesser-known women artists, this course will address the social, economic, religious, and political conditions under which women have always made art, yet have been largely marginalised in its formal histories, institutions, and markets.
Students will become broadly familiar with important figures and movements in art history. Celebrating and analysing the creative agency of women artists and makers, we will also interrogate the social and structural conditions influencing their relative (in)visibility, recognition, reception, and re-evaluation in the field.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
- understand some of the cultural, political, social and historical contexts of – and constraints on – women’s artistic production and agency
- analyse and describe the work of a range of women artists
- develop and communicate ideas about works of art through discussion and written analysis
- reflect critically on how the discipline of art history has been constructed, and how it continues to change
Level and demands
This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.
Please note that we will address issues of sexual violence, racism, and prejudice in this course.
This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.
English Language Requirements
We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.
IT requirements
Any standard web browser can be used to access course materials on our virtual learning environment, but we recommend Google Chrome. To access the virtual learning environment you will be required to verify your identity using an authenticator app on a mobile device or laptop in addition to your username and password. Full instructions will be sent to you on the start date of the course. We also recommend that students join the live webinars on Microsoft Teams using a laptop or desktop computer rather than a phone or tablet due to the limited functionality of the app on these devices.
Teaching methods
This course takes place over 10 weeks, with a weekly learning schedule and weekly live webinar held on Microsoft Teams. On the start date of the course students are provided with access to an online virtual learning environment, which houses the course content, including video lectures, complemented by readings or other study materials. Working through these materials over the course of the week will prepare students for a weekly 1-hour live webinar you will share with your expert tutor and fellow students. All courses are structured to amount to 100 study hours, so that on average, you should set aside 10 hours a week for study. Although the course finishes after 10 weeks, all learning materials remain available to all students for 12 months after the course has finished.
All courses are led by an expert tutor. Tutors guide students through the course materials as part of the live interactions during the weekly webinars. Tutors will also provide individualised feedback on your assignments. All online courses are taught in small student cohorts so that you and your peers will form a mutually supportive and vibrant learning community for the duration of the course. You will learn from your fellow students as well as from your tutor, and they will learn from you.
Assessment methods
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first 500 words are due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Dr Allison Deutsch
Allison Deutsch is a specialist in nineteenth-century French painting and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. She joined Oxford Lifelong Learning in 2023, and has directed the undergraduate Certificate and Diploma programmes in the History of Art. Dr Deutsch has also taught and held Fellowships at Birkbeck, University of London, and University College London [UCL]. Her work has been funded by the Leverhulme Trust and the Institute of Advanced Studies at UCL. In 2021 her first book, Consuming Painting: Food and the Feminine in Impressionist Paris, was published by Penn State University Press, and she has authored chapters in volumes published by Routledge and Yale University Press. Deutsch’s articles have appeared in Nineteenth-Century French Studies, Dix-Neuf, and Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide, among others. If you are interested in France, food, or feminism, Dr Deutsch looks forward to learning with you!
Credit Application Transfer Scheme (CATS) points
Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework. All those enrolled on an online course are registered for credit and will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.
See more information on CATS points
Digital credentials
All students who pass their final assignment will be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £430.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, or are a care-leaver in the UK, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Concessionary fees for short courses
Recommended reading
All short online course students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Continuing Education Library for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are welcome to use the Library for reference. More information can be found on the Library website.
There is a Guide to current library services for students on short courses which will give you further information.
Availability of titles on the reading list (below) can be checked on SOLO, the library catalogue.
Preparatory reading:
- The Story of Art Without Men / Hessel, Katy
- Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? / Nochlin, Linda
Module code: O26P754ARZ
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page..
