Histories of Women in Latin America & the Caribbean

This course examines the visual history of women within the context of coloniality from the perspective of critical visual studies, gender theory, and race. Through the analysis of visual representations, including drawings, prints, paintings, and photographs, we will explore how colonial discourses shaped and legitimized perceptions of Indigenous, African, and European women. The conquest and settlement of the Americas not only marked a territorial invasion but also fostered epistemic and corporeal violence, transforming the bodies of enslaved African and Indigenous women into spaces of domination and dehumanization. Artistic and visual productions throughout the colonial period reflect how racial hierarchies were inscribed in the representation of different ethnocultural groups, positioning them within an imposed order of power and otherness. By interrogating images created at various stages of the colonial imperial project, this course will reveal the mechanisms through which women's identities were mediated, racialized, and appropriated within visual culture, while critically addressing the enduring legacy of these colonial gazes in contemporary representations.