To learn where humans fit into nature, UC Davis students have the opportunity to sign up for a new, unusual interdisciplinary major focusing on the interaction of people and the natural world. The new Nature and Culture major "attempts to bridge the ever-expanding chasm between science and humanities, and at the same time, provide the nation with citizens who are able to understand and respond to ecological issues of ever-increasing complexity," says David Robertson, a UC Davis English professor who helped establish the program. The new major offers students exposure to both first-rate science and deeply reflective humanistic studies -- uniting branches of learning that are usually separate. The framework for the major is provided by core courses that are team-taught, with one instructor from the humanities and one from the sciences. In addition, students take required classes in chemistry, biology and comparative literature and choose from elective courses in a range of fields. The major, initially offered this fall, is believed by program directors to be the first of its kind in the country and appears to be part of a trend toward undergraduate interdisciplinary studies of the environment and humanities.