The Center offers an 18-hour minor in Southwestern Studies. The program engages the richness and diversity of the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico and gives focus to intercultural studies through examination of the region's people, institutions, history, and physicaland cultural ecology. An intercultural, interdisciplinary approach increases awareness of and sensitivity to the diversity of ethnic and cultural traditions in the area.
Students examine the images, myths, and perceptions of the region in light of historic records.
Students also discover the physical and cultural characteristics that distinguish the Southwest from other regions of the United States. Two core courses in Southwestern Studies provide the foundation for further in-depth study of the Southwest in specific fields such as literature, history, geography, art, music, biology, and many others. These two courses provide the basis for a broad interdisciplinary survey of geophysical, cultural, social, literary, and political history of the Southwest, emphasizing regional and ethnic expressions of culture in architecture, art, literature, philosophy, politics, popular culture, religion, science, and technology. This is the initial list of approved courses. A study of the major rangeland communities in Texas and the United States with emphasis on community organization, economics, and ecological significance of selected species and their range site relationships.