Center of Southwest Studies : Programs

Overview

The Center of Southwest Studies hosts a variety of programs and events in the gallery, reception room, and lyceum on the main floor of the building. Ongoing programs include the:

Lifelong Learning Lecture Series
Four Corners Lecture Series
Common Reading Experience
San Juan Archeological Basin Society meetings
Opening and closing events for gallery exhibitions

To stay informed about upcoming events, please visit the CSWS Program Calendar blog.

To find out about other events hosted at Fort Lewis College, visit the Fort Lewis College Event Calendar.

Please see the Events Scheduling Rates for fees, policies and procedures for hosting your event at the Center of Southwest Studies and contact the Office Manager, Julie Tapley-Booth, to inquire about available dates.

Internships

The Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado offers internship opportunities in various program categories. Most notable, the Center was able to offer paid internships for Native Americans from 2003-2008; 2008 was the fifth and final year of this 3-year Earmark! The Center's Native American Honors Internships program provided select Native students with quality, mentored paid internships in the following areas: archives, library, museum, and historic preservation. Interns worked at the Center of Southwest Studies and participated in outreach opportunities at institutions in the Four Corners Region.

Internships are available in the following areas at the Center of Southwest Studies:

Archives
archive intern Archival interns have the opportunity to work with hundreds of collections of documents, photographs, and original collections, including the papers of Professor Richard Ellis and U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell and historic photographs of the Southwest.

In 1999-2000, the Center was only one of two sites in the nation to receive a prestigious National Historical Publications and Records Commission fellowship in archival administration. Anne Foster, the archival fellow for that year, wrote that her fellowship offered "the opportunity to make significant contributions to the Center by researching and making policy recommendations...the variety of tasks assigned and the amount of responsibility entrusted to me made the entire year both challenging and rewarding." Please see the archival internship guidelines and contact the Archives Manager, Nik Kendziorski, if interested in an archival internship.

Library
Library Science students learn and work in a special library setting in a variety of areas including technical services, reference, collection development and maintenance, and programming. Interns assist the librarian with maintaining Delaney Southwest Research Library’s book and periodical collections and gain working knowledge of special library operations. Both student and professional interns are introduced to library theory and gain practical experience in library and information science through readings, workshops, special programs and lectures. Interns have an opportunity to travel and meet tribal librarians and graduate library school representatives, both in the Southwest and beyond. Please contact the Reference Librarian, Elayne Silversmith, to inquire about a library internship.

Museum
Moving Canyon Princess Sculpture Museology students assist the Center’s curator and learn about prehistoric ceramics such as ancestral Pueblo pots and other materials. The Center is the home of one of the nation’s finest collections of Southwest weavings, featuring 800 years of exceptional Navajo, Hispanic, and Pueblo rugs, dresses and blankets. Sotheby’s has rated the Durango Collection® as one of the best in the nation; its value was appraised at $2.4 million. Please contact the Curator, Jeanne Brako, to inquire about a museum internship.

Anthropology
Internships in archaeological work are available through the Anthropology Department.