Dissertation Information for Michelle Marie MoravecNAME:
DEGREE:
DISCIPLINE:
SCHOOL: ADVISORS: COMMITTEE MEMBERS: MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected Title: Building women's culture: Feminism and art at the Los Angeles Woman's Building Abstract: 1998 marks the 105th anniversary of the Woman's Building of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the twenty-fifth anniversary of its namesake, the Woman's Building in Los Angeles. Like its predecessor, the Los Angeles Woman's Building showcased art by women, but also explored women as "artists," a role historically gendered male in Western society. Founded by Judy Chicago, Sheila de Bretteville, and Arlene Raven, the Woman's Building served for eighteen years as a center for the feminist art movement. This study of the Woman's Building reveals a great deal about cultural politics in the 1970s by illustrating how feminists at the Woman's Building bridged the gap between culture and politics, using art as a weapon in the feminist cause. The members of the Woman's Building mounted a concerted critique of misogynistic culture, and created a new women's culture. This study also addresses contemporary debates among women's historians about the value of the concept of a separate women's culture developed by scholars such as Barbara Welter, Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, and Nancy Cott. Finally, my dissertation also investigates the way feminist ideas worked in practice, making a contribution to the basic history of the women's movement. Using the Woman's Building as my example, I follow not only the evolution of ideas about women and art, but debates about women's sexuality, separatism as a political strategy, the function of leadership and power, the survival of feminism in the 1980s, and multiculturalism. |
MPACT Scores for Michelle Marie MoravecA = 0 Advisors and Advisees Graphgenerating graph, please reload |
Students under Michelle Marie Moravec
ADVISEES:
- None
COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None


