A&M International To Host Borderlands Conference Sept. 6

Texas A&M International University, in conjunction with the City of Laredo, will host a binational conference entitled "Borderlands Landscapes: US - Mexico Border Conference on Urban Settlement Patterns and the Human Dimension" on Saturday, September 6 at A&M International's main campus, 5201 University Boulevard.

The one-day conference will focus on the cultural landscape of the United States - Mexico border, including Latin American settlement patterns, similarities in urban patterns and architecture, demographic trends, industrialization, labor relations, changing family patterns, and the exponential growth now facing border cities.

Conference sessions will feature scholars from the United States and Mexico who will present information on recent investigations in the fields of archaeology, historic preservation, architecture, environmental planning, social history, gender and class issues, demography, and identity.

Plenary speaker Dr. Daniel Arreola, Professor of Geography at Arizona State University, Tempe, will present "The Mexican Borderlands: Una Frontera Geografica Cultural," an illustrated exploration of the cultural geographic distinctiveness of the Texas-Mexican Borderlands. Arreola is co-author of The Mexican Border Cities: Landscape Anatomy and Place Personality.

Closing plenary speaker will be Dr. Raul B. Garcia. His presentation, "The New Urbanism and Development of Historic Cities in the Americas," will focus on the philosophy of New Urbanism and how historic districts or towns in the Americas have played a significant role in the development of this movement, becoming positive models for the future. Dr. Garcia is involved in several national and international organizations. He is founding director of the Interamerican Institute of Architecture and Urbanism.

Registration for the conference is $20, which includes a box lunch.

Conference organizers are Dr. Jose Roberto Juarez, Professor of History at A&M International; Dr. Norma Cantu, Professor of English, A&M International; Dr. Cecilia Garza, Assistant Professor of Sociology, A & M International; Hector Romero Lecanda of Cultura Fronteriza, A.C., Nuevo Laredo; and Mario Vazquez Soriano of El Colegio De La Frontera Norte, Nuevo Laredo.

The conference is being funded by the Texas Council for the Humanities with additional support from Texas A&M International University, and the Texas Historical Commission's Los Caminos Del Rio Heritage Project.

Other participating groups are El Colegio De La Frontera Norte of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Cultura Fronteriza of Nuevo Laredo, the Webb County Historical Commission, the Webb County Heritage Foundation, the Webb County Archaeological Society, the City of Laredo Historic District/Landmark Board, the Laredo Planning Department, and the Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau.

For more information on the Borderlands Conference at A&M International Sept. 6, please contact Nina Nixon-Mendez, Conference Project Director and City of Laredo Historic Preservation Officer, at (956) 791-7441 or by email at planning@icsi.net.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Affairs and Information Services at pais@tamiu.edu