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News Archive - Fall 2003 Anthropology Conference sessions in memory of Begoña Aretxaga The American Anthropological Association annual meeting of November 19–23 included two sessions dedicated to the memory of anthropologist Begoña Aretxaga, who had been a founding member of the Center’s Advisory Board and also participated in our Program Review in 1998. Dr. Aretxaga received her Ph.D. from Princeton and taught at Harvard, Princeton, Chicago, and was a tenured associate professor at the University of Austin, Texas at the time of her death in 2002. She also was a co-organizer of the CBS conference on Nationalism, Globalization, and Terror, held in April 2002. An invited session on “Rethinking Political Violence, Subjectivities and Imaginaries: Papers in Memory of Begoña Aretxaga,” sponsored by the Society for Cultural Anthropology, was held on November 22 and included a paper by Joseba Zulaika on “The Intimacy of Violence and a Politics of Friendship.” Other presenters were James Fernandez, Yael Navaro-Yashin, Vincanne Adams, Maria Ramirez, and Elana Zilberg, with discussant Mary-Jo Good. The session was chaired by James Brow, who was also co-organizer along with Yael Navaro-Yashin and Pauline Strong; all three were Aretxaga’s colleagues at University of Texas, Austin. A second invited session was sponsored by the AAA Executive Program Committee on the same day, “Roots of Violence, Conditions for Peace: Papers in Memory of Begoña Aretxaga.” It was also co-organized and chaired by James Brow, with co-organizers Geeta Patel and Yael Navaro-Yashin. Presenters were Kay Warren, Neni Panourgia, Geeta Patel, Brandt Peterson, Lucia Volk, and Lauren Berlant, with discussant Michael Hanchard. |
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White discusses latest research Linda White discussed her latest research as part of the Basque Seminar Series, in which Center faculty present information on their current work. On Tuesday November 18, Dr. White gave a description of her conference papers of the last several months as well as her book publication Amatxi, Amuma, Amona. |
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Basque language discussed in lecture at Oxford On November 11, the Basque Studies Society and Saint Antony’s College (Oxford) held an informal talk and debate at the European Studies Centre on minority languages in the EU, with particular reference to Basque. The main report was given by Alberto Almonacid, philosopher and expert in field work with Basque language. The session was chaired by the current year’s Basque Visiting Fellow at Saint Antony’s, Xabier Ezeizabarrena. The event was attended by CBS professor Sandra Ott, among many fellows, professors, students and post-graduates from Oxford, coming from many different European contexts linked with minority languages. |
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Linda White paper given at conference in Euskadi Linda White was an invited speaker at the Ahozko Inprobisazioa Munduan Conference (Oral Improvisation in the World) held in San Sebastián, Spain November 3–8, 2003. White delivered the paper “Formulas in the Mind,” which discussed whether oral formulaic theory could be applied in the case of the Basque bertsolaris who create and sing extemporaneous verses before an audience. While in the Basque country, White did two live radio interviews, one with Euskadi Irratia (Radio Euskadi) and the other with Bizkaia Irratia (Radio Bizkaia). She discussed her participation in the conference as well as her other research. In addition, White taped a television segment with host Harkaitz Cano to be broadcast on ETB2, the Spanish-language Basque television network. |
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Center staff speak at Zubi Zuri event Zubi Zuri – Basque Cultural Days was presented November 7 and 8 by the San Francisco Basque Cultural Center and the Basque Educational Organization. Zubi Zuri (a bridge to you) was the fourth annual Basque Cultural Day presented by these organizations with the help of their sponsors, to allow those attending to learn more about Basque history and culture. Friday, Nov. 7 the celebration got started with a dinner and band performance. On Saturday, November 8, Center faculty members Joseba Zulaika, presenting “Jorge Oteiza’s Life and Work,” and Gloria Totricagüena, discussing “Basque Diaspora-Homeland Relations,” were guest speakers at the event. In addition, Ph.D. student Pedro Oiarzabal spoke on Basque identity in the world, and Ph.D. student Imanol Galfarsoro gave a presentation on the London Euskal Etxea. A talk on Basque boarding houses was given by Jeronima Echeverria, a member of the CBS Advisory Board. Author Mark Kurlansky, who penned the bestseller The Basque History of the World, spoke about the plan for creation of a Basque International Cultural Center in New York. A dinner held in the kantxa (handball court area) was followed by a performance by Juan Mari Beltran and his band, playing traditional Basque instruments including the txalaparta. |
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Laxalt honored by Literary Landmark award The late author Robert Laxalt, founder of the University of Nevada Press and a Reynolds School of Journalism professor, was honored with a Friends of the USA Literary Landmark award at the Nevada State Library and Archives on Oct. 31 in Carson City. The Literary Landmark program recognizes the achievements of deceased literary figures, authors, or their works throughout the country. Laxalt is considered the literary spokesman of American Basques, and one of Nevada’s chief literary figures. He passed away in March 2001 at age 77. Warren Lerude, journalist, colleague and friend of Laxalt, served as Master of Ceremonies at the dedication ceremony. The author’s daughter, Monique Laxalt, and Virginia City poet Shaun Griffin also spoke at the event. Laxalt is known for his writings on the Basques, especially one of his first publications, Sweet Promised Land, about his sheepherder father who came to the American West as a young man and raised his family in the Carson City area. |
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Fall CBS Newsletter now available online! The Fall 2003 issue of the Center for Basque Studies Newsletter is now available online, in Adobe portable document format (PDF). Hard copies will also be mailed out this week, for those of you on our regular mailing list. Please contact us if you would like to be added to our mailing list to receive a hard copy, or if you would like to be placed on the electronic list and read the issues online. There is no charge for either service. |
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“Life in the Basque Country” Photo Exhibit An exhibit of Basque Country photos by Miel A. Elustondo is now on display in Getchell Library (main-floor gallery area), November 1-30, 2003. The exhibit includes twenty-four color photos of scenes and people of the Basque region of Spain accompanied by informative explanatory text, each giving a vignette of the Basque culture and history. Miel A. Elustondo was born in the Basque Country of Spain and is a freelance journalist and writer. His articles and photos have been published in several Basque language newspapers and magazines. He has worked for the Basque TV station, Euskal Telebista, producing cultural programs. Currently he is writing a literary essay on the First Western Basque Festival, held in Reno in 1959. He is also preparing a book of photographs of Basque-Americans in the Western U.S., as well as an Internet photo exhibit on Basque writers. |
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New books available on Basque topics!! We are glad to announce some new publications in the Basque Book Series of the University of Nevada Press, and in the Basque Textbooks Series. Please see our Publications pages for details on Juan Bautista de Anza. Basque Explorer in the New World, 1693–1740 by Donald T. Garate; Possible Paradises: Basque Emigration to Latin America by José Manuel Azcona Pastor; and textbooks Basque Diaspora: Migration and Transnational Identity by Gloria Totoricagüena and Basque Sociolinguistics: Language, Society, and Culture by Estibaliz Amorrortu. |
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Shooting from the Lip: Bertsolariak Ipar Amerikan Improvised Basque-Verse Singing Compiled, edited and translated by Joxe Mallea-Olaetxe Published by North American Basque Organizations ISBN: 0-615-12403-8; hardcover, 437 pages, $24.95. This book is a compilation of the bertsoak (improvised Basque verses) of North American bertsolariak (improvisers) including Johnny Curuchet, Jesus Arriada, Jesus Goñi, and Martin Goikoetxea. Each verse appears in the original Euskara and also in English translation. In 2003, these four bertsolariak were the recipients of a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the country’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. The book’s introduction includes an explanation of the art of the bertsolari and some verses of Fernando “Xalbador” Aire, a renowned bertsolari from Urepele in the Basque Country, about his visit to North America. The book may be ordered online from the NABO web site at: www.basqueclubs.com. Or you may order by mail by sending $35.95 ($24.95 plus shipping/handling) in check or money order to NABO, 705 Nicklaus Lane, Eagle, ID 83616. |
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New publication! Amatxi, Amuma, Amona: Writings in Honor of Basque Women We have just published the latest work in our Occasional Papers Series, a volume on Basque women edited by Linda White and Cameron Watson. Amatxi, Amuma, Amona brings together eleven essays on Basque women, their personal and collective stories, from the Basque Country of Europe to Basque settlements in the American West, Latin America, and Australia. The focus of this diverse collection is identity, specifically Basque identity, and the contribution of these women to their communities and to the maintenance of their culture. Publication assistance for the volume was provided by the Basque Government, including the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, the Ministry of Culture, and the Secretary General of Foreign Affairs. Funding was also provided by donors to the Consortium for the Study of Basque Women (1997–2002). |
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Oiarzabal publishes interview of Gloria Totoricagüena Hermes. Revista de Pensamiento e Historia (No. 10, October 2003) has published a 14-page feature article on the works of Gloria Totoricagüena regarding Basque migration and diasporic identity studies. Pedro Oiarzabal, Ph.D. candidate at the CBS, conducted the interview and wrote the piece for the journal, which highlights Totoricagüena’s years of fieldwork with Basques from over twenty countries and also her own professional development. The story includes her expectations for the future of the Basque Centers and her analysis of what it means to be Basque for those living outside of Euskal Herria. |
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Zulaika article published in Spanish Cultural Studies An article by Joseba Zulaika, “Anthropologists, Artists, Terrorists: The Basque Holiday from History,” appears in the Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies issue for September 2003 (4:2, pp. 139–150). |
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Zulaika interviewed by Radio Euskadi Director Joseba Zulaika was interviewed by Radio Euskadi for an hour-long program which aired in September in the Basque Country. The interview topics included Basque culture and politics and the activities of the Center for Basque Studies. |
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Basque Ph.D. Raento is Visiting Professor at U of Minnesota Pauliina Raento, a graduate of the Basque Ph.D. program with an emphasis in geography, has been appointed the Government of Finland/David and Nancy Speer Visiting Professor of Finnish Studies at the University of Minnesota for a three-year term. The chair was created to raise awareness of Finnish contributions in cultural, political, and social spheres. |
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Zulaika conference paper on terrorism published Joseba Zulaika’s article, “Todos somos americanos: bienvenidos al discurso del terrorismo global,” has been published in Retóricas sem fronteiras: 2 / Violências edited by Jorge Freitas Branco and Ana Isabel Afonso (Oieras [Portugal]: Celta Editora, 2003; pp. 1–14). The book is a collection of presentations given at the 2002 conference in Evora, II Encontro de Antropólogos Ibéricos. |
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Navarrese historian Roldán Jimeno publishes work Historian Roldán Jimeno Aranguren, 2003 recipient of a Begoña Aretxaga Memorial Research Stipend, has just published and released a new book, Orígenes del cristianismo en la tierra de los vascones (Pamiela). Jimeno researches the history and origins of Christianity in Nafarroa during the fourth to fifth centuries. Following his investigation of San Fermin, he differentiates the Christianization of the various zones of Nafarroa, and the worship of several Catholic Saints. |
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Basque-American photographer exhibits at UNR The gallery in Getchell Library on the University of Nevada, Reno campus featured the work of Marie-Jose Durquet during the month of October in an exhibit entitled “Almost Gone.” The works employ mixed media, fiber art, drawing, and ultimately photography. The subjects are “drawings” made using yarn glued down on concrete, which are then photographed. The drawings depict a few of the many threatened and endangered species in California. Marie-Jose Durquet, a native of the Basque Country in France, received a BA from the University of California, Davis and a Masters of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has taught art and photography in Botswana as a Peace Corps Volunteer, as well as at the Maryland Institute College of Art, the San Francisco Art Institute, UC Berkeley, and the University of California, Hayward. Her work has been exhibited at several galleries, including James Baird Gallery in Newfoundland, Walter / McBean Gallery in San Francisco, Soho Photo Gallery in New York City, and La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley. |
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Basque Children’s Games topic of seminar On September 18, Drs. Joseba Etxebeste and Clara Urdangarin from the Universidad del País Vasco in Vitoria-Gasteiz, gave a presentation on Traditional Basque Children’s Games. They demonstrated that games are a mirror of the society, and information about the culture is transmitted through games. The presentation was part of the Center’s Seminar Series held during the academic year, in which faculty and visiting researchers present information about their current research, inviting discussion and feedback from listeners. |
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Great Basin Festival has Basque theme for 2003 Basques were the featured theme at a multicultural festival, “Celebrating our Heritage,” held at Great Basin College of Elko, Nevada in September. Workshops, lectures, and exhibits were scheduled to highlight the various cultures of the Great Basin including Indian, Hispanic, Irish, Chinese, and of course the Basques. Events began on September 16 and include a Basque tree carving exhibit, accordion and tambourine workshop, Basque sheep dog demonstration, dance exhibitions, and cooking demonstrations. The closing night concert presents the renowned Basque musical group, Tapia eta Leturia. For a full schedule of events, please see the web site at: www.gbcnv.edu/festival, or phone 775.753.2178. |
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