Below you’ll find a list of the latest graduate course offerings at UD that engage significantly with material culture. Don’t forget to also check out the amazing grant opportunities sponsored by CMCS.
Spring 2026 COURSES
ARTH 619 – Studies in Art of the Iberian World, 1400-1800
Professor Mónica Domínguez Torres
RELIGION AND MATERIALITY IN THE IBERIAN WORLD. Explores religious manifestations in diverse regions of the Spanish and Portuguese empires paying particular attention to the materials employed in their production; not only the techniques and properties associated with each material choice, but also the ways in which such substances were sourced and traded. Open to graduate students only; requires permission from the instructor.
UAPP430/630, Methods in Historic Preservation
Professor Catherine Morrissey
Introduces students to the critical skills and methodologies employed in the field of historic preservation. Organization is based on the steps used in preservation planning, including survey and identification of historic resources, evaluation of significance, development of historic context, and creation of preservation treatment alternatives. The UAPP630 section meets a requirement for the graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation.
ARTC 667 – Preventive Conservation Research and Applications
Professor Joelle Wickens
This course takes clothing as a starting point for examining broad themes in anthropology, including gender and sexuality, race and the body, history and colonialism. We look at the ritual significance of clothing and the role of style in constituting social movements and identity categories. We also examine the globalization of the fashion industry to understand the relationships among citizenship, consumption, labor, and power.
MCST/ENGL/HIST/ARTH/EAMC 610 – Introduction to Theories of Material Culture Studies
Professor Arwen Mohun
This seminar introduces graduate students to the theories, practices and methodologies
of “material culture studies” broadly defined. The course is designed to help students
both gain a better understand their own discipline and acquire a new set of tools and
perspectives. Our method will be both eclectic and interdisciplinary. Through discussion
of weekly readings, site visits, and “object lessons,” we will explore how scholars and
practitioners from a wide range of disciplines have utilized both theory and empirical
research methods to understand objects in relation to their social and cultural contexts.
Topics covered will include how and why different fields name and define the object of
study; different approaches to human and object agency; and research methods across
different disciplines.
MSPE 402/602 – Archives and Paper Collections
Professor Laura Helton
This course serves as an introduction to theories and best practices in the curation and management of archives and paper collections in museums, archives, and other collecting institutions. Students learn core archival terms and debates—around appraisal, provenance, and custodianship—while getting hands-on experience arranging and describing manuscript materials through a partnership with UD’s Special Collections department in Morris Library. Students also explore legal and ethical issues concerning archives (copyright, privacy, reparative language, and cultural heritage), and the complex relationship between paper-based and born-digital records.