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History
of the Southwest Institute
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| The Institute began in 1984 as a project of the Southwest Studies Committee at the University of New Mexico (UNM). Envisioned as an interdisciplinary and multicultural flagship program focused on the American Southwest, the Institute would support degree programs and research in Southwest Studies. At the same time, the Institute would be responding to the new state mandate that teachers utilize more New Mexico and Southwest topics in classroom instruction. | |||||||||||
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The
Southwest Institute was structured as a lecture and field combination
program, as broad and inclusive as possible within a given region (geographic
location) of study. Following a lecture series, participants were encouraged
to
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register for a field program to visit selected sites with a team of experts.The format has always been one of traditional regional geography: a sequence of natural environment, prehistoric cultures, layers of historic cultures, and finally current issues that affect the study area. | |||||||||
| In 1995 the Institute moved from UNM and was condensed into one eight day program: one day of lectures and seven days in the field. Academic credit continued to be offered through UNM, but became optional. For three years two different programs were offered each summer. In 1996 the Institute became affiliated with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation, and now offers one new program each year. |
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