Women and Architecture in Film: Representation, Gender/Genre, and Microhistories in [Ibero]America

This doctoral thesis, framed within the research project "Women Architects in Film, 1945–2000" (WAR/F Project PID2022-136975OB-I00) at the University of Zaragoza, examines the image and cultural construction of women architects in 20th-century fiction cinema. Based on an initial cataloguing of 1,083 films featuring architect characters, the research establishes a primary analytical corpus of 134 titles (12%) that portray at least one woman architect or architecture student. The study is based on the hypothesis that fictional cinema has actively participated in shaping professional identities by either perpetuating or challenging patriarchal structures historically marked by gender stereotypes, norms and power relations. To counter the dominant, Hollywood-centred androcentric canon and the myth of the "architectural genius," this investigation shifts the historiographical focus toward the Iberian Peninsula and Ibero-America through a feminist, decolonial, and intersectional lens.

To analyse this corpus, the thesis develops an original methodology built around representation analysis. The project maps relevant filmography, examines gender patterns across film genres, and uncovers key micro-histories that subvert or illustrate traditional narratives of subordination. Ultimately, this research aims to consolidate cinema as an innovative historiographical tool for architectural history, combining high-impact academic output with international research stays, peer-reviewed publications, and cultural dissemination activities.

This doctoral thesis is conducted under a joint supervision program between the University of Zaragoza and the University of Beira Interior (Portugal).
Supervisors: Lucía C. Pérez-Moreno (Unizar, Spain), Koldo Lus Arana (Unizar, Spain), Patrìcia Santo Pedrosa (UBI, Portugal).
Funding: UNITA (European) Program.