The Modern Girl

This course clocks the prehistory and history of the “modern girl,” a physiologically and biologically understood, anatomically correct, commodity-defined, human rights bearing person that revolutionized how we define women. Beginning with the early modern global trade networks that created the material conditions for women’s political action, the course moves through imperialism and colonialism, Cold War gender formations, and the contemporary consumer cultures of Asia and their global entanglements. Our focus this semester is Asia and beyond and our central questions are (1) how did gendered commodities –machine fabricated, internationally circulated– lay material conditions for women’s political action and liberation struggles; (2) how is commodification of the girl figure a blessing and a curse; (3) is the modern girl one subject of feminism and how does socialist feminist theory and political movements historically connect to the modern girl phenomenon? In this class we figure out how to analyze 20th century new media e.g., silent films, phonograph records, lithography, commercial brand images, lantern slides, and, of course, the fashion and advertising industries. We will develop historical tools to help us understand how cultural forms deliver material political impacts and results. This is a lecture course with time set aside for your visual presentations and your analysis of the readings, images, and ideas. This course has no prerequisites, and is open to all students, including those in their first year.