This course takes a new look at Japanese art history through the lens of gender theory. It begins with an overview of significant critical viewpoints developed in other fields of art history then turns to their application (and applicability) to Japanese culture. Topics to be included: the construction of culture in gendered terms, particularly in confrontation with another culture (such as China or Europe); the application of terms like onna-e ("feminine painting") and otoko-e ("masculine painting") in the Heian period; the place of the woman painter in traditional culture; the fetishization of the "feminine" as a marker of the "masculine"; and the transformation of gendered terminology in the construction of a new "modern" art and culture. Background in East Asian culture or gender studies recommended.