Course Descriptions

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ARTH 3701 Special Topics

Selected themes and topics from the history of art. Content changes. Course may be taken more than once. Recommended prerequisite: appropriate survey courses.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3811 Colonial American Art

This course examines the art and architecture of European and African peoples in North America, from exploration to 1820. It studies the emergence of tentative national art forms from multiple artistic and cultural traditions.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3814 Medieval Art

Content of this course changes and may focus on any aspect of art produced in western Europe and the eastern Mediterranean from the 4th to the 14th centuries, including paintings, manuscript illumination, stained glass, sculpture, and architecture.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3817 Gothic Art

This course examines the art of the late Middle Ages in Europe, from roughly 1140 to 1400. It surveys the rise, diffusion and function of Gothic art. Architecture, sculpture, painting, stained glass and the sumptuous arts (metal, textiles) are examined within their broader social, political and religious contexts.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3818 Art of Renaissance Europe

Content of this course varies and may consider any aspect of European art of the 14th through 16th centuries. Content changes to focus on Italy, or Northern Europe, or to survey the entire period.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3823 Arts of 17th Century Europe

This course considers European arts of the 17th century. It may focus on Italy or Northern Europe, or both.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3832 19th Century Art

This course is a survey of 19th century European art movements, including among others: neo-classicism, romanticism, impressionism and art nouveau in the context of the social, political, cultural milieu.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3833 20th Century Art

This class considers the development of 20th century art, first primarily in Europe and then in the United States as the center of the avant-garde shifts to America around World War II. The class follows the development of modernism and its theories from 1900 to around 1965.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3834 Contemporary Art

This course covers very recent developments in western art in a wide range of media. Contemporary postmodern theory and criticism are discussed.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3838 Connoisseurship

In this class the historical roots, theoretical and philosophical underpinnings, and actual practice of connoisseurship are studied using objects from the Denver Art Museum’s collection.
4 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3839 Topics in Modern Art

Selected themes and topics from 18th century to present. Topics change; course may be taken more than once.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3841 Topics in Chinese Art

Selected themes and topics in Chinese art. Topics change; course may be taken more than once.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3842 Topics in Japanese Art

Selected themes and topics in Japanese art. Topics change; course may be taken more than once.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3844 Art of Southeast Asia

This is a study, from early historical times, of art in Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia, where Buddhist and Hindu art flourished and had lasting influence.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3846 Dada and Surrealism

This class traces the development of Dada and Surrealist art in Europe from 1914 through 1939, exploring artists’ interests in Freudian psychoanalysis, dreams, sexuality and automatic methods of creativity.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3865 Precolumbian Art

This survey of arts produced in the Americas before European contact focuses on Mexico and South America. Graduate standing required.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3867 Native American Art

This course is designed as an introduction to the art and architecture of the native peoples of North America from the earliest signs of humans in North America to the present. Cultures covered include those from the Southwest, the Northwest, the Southeast Ceremonial Complex, the Plains, and Contemporary Native American artists. By the conclusion of the class, students will understand the cultural sequence and geographic dispersion of native North America. Students will also understand how the various civilizations of North America shared aspects of world-view, cosmology, and daily life, and be able to identify and discuss how these elements manifested in the art and architecture of native North American cultures. Graduate standing required.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3871 Women in Art

This course examines women as creators, patrons and subjects of western art. Particular attention is paid to issues of class and race as they have affected roles of women in art, and to the construction of models of femininity through the visual arts.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3872 Introduction to Conservation

This course familiarizes the student with the concepts and theories of conservation, its role in museums, and the care of collections, with specific emphasis on the materials, deterioration and preservation of material culture.
4 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3873 The Goddess in Art

Explores the goddess and her many guises from prehistory to the present day. Sacred images of women drawn from archaic and classical mythology, biblical, and Christian sources analyzed from feminist perspective.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 3875 History of Collections

This course traced the history of collections from the Renaissance to the present, addressing the interconnections between artists, patrons, dealers, art markets, provenance, connoisseurship, and the historical development of museums and private collections. Each week’s readings of journal articles and chapters focuses on different types of collections or themes, including royal and imperial collections, cabinets of curiosities, excavating and transporting antiquities, British country estates and the Grand Tour, the establishment of national museums, the relationship between American collectors and dealers, ethnographic objects in Western collections, Nazi looting, restorers and forgers, and artists’ collections, to name a few. Senior Art History majors with the proper background may be admitted to the class with the permission of the instructor.

5 qtr. hrs.

Graduate Seminars:

ARTH 4301 Seminar in Art History Methods

This course introduces various investigative and interpretative methods used by art historians; required of all MA candidates.
5 qtr. hrs.

ARTH 4302 Research Practicum

The primary goal is to learn methods and resources for doing research in subject areas where there is little or no published research. Topics change. Students do original research.
5 qtr. hrs