We will dig deep to discover the army of women who were busy working in the shadow, while men happily bathed in the spotlight. Each week of this course will be devoted to a different area of study: HISTORY, SCIENCE, ART and LITERATURE. For example, in the area of science, it will be discovered how many women were actually behind some major inventions and discoveries. In literature, as well as looking at possible female ghost writers, we will also explore the female characters in novels who were lurking in the shadow and who were rarely granted heroine status.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face to Face

LEARNING RESOURCES

• No required reading, handouts will be offered throughout the course

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: Women in Science & Innovation (MAGDALENA)

• Women’s contributions to science
• Barriers to education, recognition, and authorship
• Case studies: Marie Curie and lesser-known women scientists
• How scientific credit has historically been assigned
• Group discussion and reflective learning

Week 2: Women in Art & Cultural Production (MAGDALENA)

• Women artists working in the shadow of male contemporaries
• Gender, creativity, and access to artistic institutions
• Case studies: Frida Kahlo and overlooked women artists
• How women’s artistic labour has been valued and remembered
• Group discussion and reflective learning

Week 3: Power, Memory & Rewriting History (LINDA)

• Why women’s histories disappear
• Who writes history and whose voices remain
• Social, political, and cultural forces shaping memory
• Contemporary efforts to recover and reclaim women’s stories
• Group discussion and reflective learning

Week 4: Women in the shadow of the Author and the Protagonsist (LINDA)

• Women ghost writers and “editors” excluded from the canon
• Case studies of trivialised women in literature who lurk in the heroine’s shadow
• Comparison of male and female protagonists
• Group discussion and reflective learning with a touch of humour

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the Course students will be able to:

1. Recognise women’s overlooked contributions across four disciplines
2. Understand historical and social barriers faced by women
3. Critically reflect on how history is recorded and remembered
4. Engage in informed discussion about gender and representation