Professor Alison Peirse's Inaugural Lecture: Now You See Us

This keynote explores what it means to be a feminist scholar of horror film, and how we might think through the history of women filmmakers who have chosen to work in this most disreputable of genres

Introduced by Professor Beth Johnson.

The title of this keynote comes from "Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520 – 1920", a new exhibition at the Tate Britain composed over 200 artworks which in some way comment upon preconceived notions about what subjects are “suitable” or “appropriate” for women to make art about. My keynote is named after this exhibition because curatorial practice is fascinating, and curatorial practice is what we do (in our own way) as film scholars when we create (feminist) film histories. However, the point of this parallel is not just to compare our work with that of art archivists or curators. This keynote then draws upon conceptual frameworks from feminist art history and retools them to analyse women filmmakers working in horror film. It deploys lecture material, video essays, home video footage and a virtual exhibition to demonstrate how we might create generative alternatives to occlusive film histories. In so doing, it offers an opportunity to think deeply about what it means to be a feminist scholar of horror film, and how we might build histories of the women who have worked in this most disreputable of genres.  

Alison Peirse is a Professor of Film Studies at the University of Leeds, UK. She researches horror film, feminist film historiographies, and videographic criticism. Her third book, Women Make Horror: Filmmaking, Feminism, Genre (2020), was the subject of a screening series at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, in the summer of 2022. You can find out more about her work at www.alisonpeirse.com

Event Information

This is a free public event and all are welcome. The hour-long lecture will be followed by a buffet reception and drinks. There is no need to register, but please email Media Research Support (mediaresearchsupport@leeds.ac.uk) if you wish to attend (just so we have an idea of numbers for catering purposes), or for more information.