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News Archive - Fall 2005
Basque Lecture Series for fall semester presented The Center for Basque Studies lecture series for fall sponsored several lectures during the past few weeks. The first was a seminar on November 15, given by Director Joseba Zulaika. His presentation was on “The Paradox of Sovereignty,” and it examined the paradoxical consequences of sovereignty by reviewing the cases of Spain (the ongoing debate on the Catalan Statut and the Plan Ibarretxe), the European Union (the unitary supra-state versus the federal models) and the United States. On November 23, we presented Juan Bautista Bengoetxea of the Colorado School of Mines, speaking on “Philosophy (Ethics) into Engineering (Chemistry): An Actual American Case for a Possible Basque Agenda.” His talk focused on responses to ethical issues, the institutional and the individual, comparing U.S. and Basque cases. Xabier Irujo, a historian and professor of Basque Studies at Boise State University, presented a lecture on “The Collaboration of Basque Secret Services and the American OSS, 1940–1949,” on November 28. November 29 Ekai Txapartegi(postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California, Berkeley) spoke on “Is it Time for Non-Violence?” exploring the role that civil disobedience could play in the Basque Country’s political future. A lecture by Fernando Molina on “Arizmendiarrieta, Founder of the Mondragon Cooperatives” was given on November 30. Dr. Molina is a Research Scholar at the University of the Basque Country, researching Contemporary History of Spain and the Basque Country.
On December 6, Sandra Ott of the Center’s faculty
gave a presentation on “Good Tongues, Bad Tongues: Denunciation, Rumor
and Revenge in the French Basque Country (1940–1945),” challenging
common assumptions about gender relations in France during the
Occupation, and current theories about women’s involvement in
collaboration and resistance. | |
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Pedro Oiarzabal publishes book review Ph.D. student Pedro Oiarzabal published a review of the recent Basque book, Santiago Ibarra: Historia de un Inmigrante Vasco, by Angeles de Dios Martina. The review appeared in the Revista Internacional de Estudios Vascos (RIEV), Vol. 49, No. 1 (2004): 268–271. | |
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G. Totoricagüena lectures in Argentina, attends conference Gloria Totoricagüena traveled to Argentina for several days of academic lectures and to participate in the Youth Congress of the Argentine National Basque Week held in Necochea. She presented a lecture November 7 for the College of Social Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires (which has an enrollment of 300,000). Organized by the dean of the college, Federico Schuster, and the Centro de Estudios Arturo Campion, her talk presented a critical view of Basque transnational identity in Argentina, including trends in political relations with the Basque Government, and homeland population views toward Basques living outside of Euskal Herria. Her audience included faculty and students as well as members of the Buenos Aires Basque community. Totoricagüena and the Dean also discussed a possible agreement between the Center for Basque Studies and the U.B.A. College of Social Sciences to collaborate on an oral history project of Basques in Argentina.
The Inter-American Basque Youth Congress invited Dr. Totoricagüena to
give a lecture at their meeting in Necochea, Argentina November 8–10.
Necochea President Felipe Muguerza and Maite Velasco of Buenos Aires
coordinated the event for emerging leaders of Basque communities from
South America, with additional presentations from the Director of EITB,
Jose Felix Azurmendi, and the Basque Government Director of Relations
with Basque Communities, Josu Legarreta. Dr. Totoricagüena presented
data from her years of fieldwork in Argentina, Uruguay, and Peru,
focusing on gender differences in attitudes toward defining Basque
identity, geographical differences between Basques in the United States
and those in the Southern Cone, and organizational differences between
the North American Basque Organizations federation and the Federación de
Entidades Vasco-Argentina. She also participated in the conference of
Basque Librarians in Argentina, which was arranged in conjunction with
the Argentine National Basque Week celebration. | |
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25th Annual Basque Hall of Fame Awards The Society of Basque Studies in America presented their 25th annual Hall of Fame awards on November 20 to honor contributors to Basque culture, welfare, and identity. This year the events were held in Boise, Idaho at the Basque Center, Euzkaldunak, Inc. Honorees are: the Basque Museum and Cultural Center, the leading Basque Museum in the U.S.; Patty Miller, Executive Director of the Basque Museum and Cultural Center; Albert Erquiaga, prominent organizer and leader of Basque activities; Mari Carmen Totorica, teacher and promoter of Basque culture; and Martin Goicoechea, bertsolari and promoter of Basque language. A luncheon was served, followed by awards and entertainment provided by a bertsolari (Basque troubadour) and the Boise community’s Biotzetik Choir. A Basque Rock Live–Unplugged program featured the bands Berri Txarrak and Betagarri [see article below].
We congratulate this year’s honorees—Zorionak! | |
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Basque rock groups tour western U.S. The Basque Educational Organization partnered with the Boise Basque Center and the Basque Government to bring Basque Rock to the American West. Two of the Basque Country’s premiere rock acts are showcased, each playing their distinctive genres of Basque rock. Betagarri of Vitoria-Gasteiz is an eight-piece SKA-Rock band that have been playing together for the past thirteen years and have produced seven albums. Their high energy live shows have made them a popular attraction in Europe and Japan. Berri Txarrak of Lekunberri (Nafarroa) have been playing together for ten years and have produced four albums, with a sound that blends alternative rock, punk, metal, and some amazing melodies. Singing in euskara, Berri Txarrak has become one of the most popular bands in the Basque Country. Their album LIBRE was distinguished as the best album in Spain by Rock Sound magazine.
The groups appeared on November 11 in San Francisco
at the United Irish Cultural Center, then Betagarri played in Los
Angeles on the 15th. Berri Txarrak also made a special
appearance in Reno on November 13 at the Record St. Café near the
University of Nevada campus. Both groups played in Boise on November 19
at the Basque Center, and November 20 they presented Basque Rock Live
Unplugged for the Society of Basque Studies in America Hall of Fame
awards luncheon. | |
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Articles published in Pays Basque “Regards: Album de Famille,” with text by Sandra Ott of the Center for Basque Studies and photographs by Anne Rearick of Boise, Idaho, appears in Pays Basque magazine, no. 40 (Oct.–Dec. 2005, pp. 10–17). This is a special tenth anniversary issue on “Être Basque Aujourd’hui” (being Basque today). Beautiful sepia-toned photographs of the French Basque region are accompanied by captions and text written by Dr. Ott, who has conducted fieldwork in the area over the past twenty-five years.
In the same issue, Gloria Totoricagüena has written
the text to accompany photos provided by Euskal Argentina for an article
on “Diaspora: la huitième province” (diaspora: the eighth province)
(pages 32–38). Her research on Basques in the diaspora has taken her to
Argentina for fieldwork on many occasions; see the above article on her recent
participation in events in Necochea and Buenos Aires. | |
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David Río participates in conferences, publications David Río, Professor of American Literature at the University of the Basque Country and Adjunct Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, published two entries for The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Multiethnic American Literature (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005): “Basque American Literature” (Vol. I: 246–251) and “Robert Laxalt” (Vol. III: 1314–1316).
In addition, Prof. Río gave papers at two recent
conferences. He presented “To Look Forward as Well as Backward: The
Basque Legacy in Monique Urza’s The Deep Blue Memory” at the 40th
Western Literature Association Conference in Los Angeles (October 19–22,
2005). He also presented the paper “Challenging Conventional Recreations
of the Western Past: Frank Bergon’s Shoshone Mike” at the I
International Conference on the American Literary West in
Vitoria-Gasteiz (October 6–7, 2005). | ||
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Basque Literature Series an international success On November 16 in Spain the book Pintxos. Nuevos Cuentos Vascos, the Spanish version of the Anthology of Basque Short Stories published by the Center last year, was launched. This translation is published by Lengua de Trapo, and has already received great reviews in the media. Since 2004, when the Anthology was first published, the book has appeared in Basque as Mende Berrirako Ipuinak. Antologia (Erein, 2005). In addition, the editor has just signed a contract with St. Petersburg University Press to translate the work into Russian. | |
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Basque Librarians give database presentations Kathryn Etcheverria, Donnelyn Curtis, and Amalia Beisler of the University of Nevada, Reno - Basque Studies Library co-presented two programs on the new Basque Database at the Nevada Library Association 2005 Convention. The event was held at Harrah’s Reno from October 19–22. They offered a workshop on October 19 called “Creating and Marketing a Specialized Multilingual Open-Access Database,” part of the pre-conference on Marketing Your Library. On October 21, they presented “Executing a Major Grant-Funded Project: What We Did and What We Learned” to academic librarians at the Nevada College and Research Libraries Professional Forum. | |
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Book on Basque identity published La Identidad Vasca en el Mundo: Narrativas sobre Identidad más allá de las Fronteras (Basque Identity in the World: Identity Narratives beyond Frontiers) (Bilbao: Erroteta, 2005), co-authored by Basque Ph.D. student Pedro Oiarzabal and his brother, Agustín M. Oiarzabal, is a pioneer study that addresses the classical question: what is the meaning of being Basque today?
The book is the result of research that took place in 2002 in twenty
countries where Basques have an institutional presence in either the
diaspora or the Basque Country. Basques of different ages, generations,
socio-economic and historical backgrounds, political traditions, and
geographical locations define in their own words the meaning of being
Basque in a globalized world. Dr. Gloria Totoricagüena of the Center for
Basque Studies states: “The reader will find that rather than answering
the original research inquiries with simplified generalizations, the
Oiarzabals have excavated a bottomless site and discovered numerous
questions for future investigations. We welcome this study and hope that
it engages the reader to further delve into the complex questions of
Basque identity in the homeland and abroad.” For more information, visit
http://www.euskalidentity.com.
The book is available through
Amazon.com, or in bookstores in the Basque region. | |
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Basque Cultural Events presented by Zazpiak Bat — Basque Cultural Week November 12–19 Zazpiak Bat Reno Basque Club has scheduled a series of events during November to celebrate Basque-American cultural heritage. The Basque Cultural Week’s events include a San Martin Dinner Dance at Louis’ Basque Corner; a performance by Basque rock group Berri Txarrak; a Global Market, including a Basque booth, with information and food samples; screenings of Basque films; children’s story time; folk dance performances; a bertsolaritza (Basque oral improvised poetry) presentation and live performance; and a concluding celebration at Horseman’s Park with workshops, dancing, cooking, and more. For complete details, please see the full schedule of events.
Basque Cultural Exhibit
Funding for these events has been provided by the
Basque Government, Directorate for Relations with Basque Communities;
co-sponsored by the Center for Basque Studies. | |
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New Ethnographies workshop held in Princeton Joseba Zulaika participated in a workshop at Princeton University in October. His paper on “The Paradox of Sovereignty: Declining States and States of Exception” was given at the editorial workshop, Politics, Publics, Personhood: New Ethnographies at the Limits of Neoliberalism. He also participated in a thematic discussion on “Contesting the neoliberal state” with Professors Fernandes, Makhulu, Haugerud, Hodgson, and Scheppele. | |
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Douglass Scholar Awardee, Gregorio Monreal, honored at reception The Center hosted a reception in honor of Gregorio Monreal Zia, the recipient of our first annual William A. Douglass Distinguished Scholar Award, on October 13 at the University of Nevada, Reno. The Douglass Distinguished Scholar Award was established in conjunction with the ministries of Education, Culture, and Foreign Affairs of the Basque Government, to promote scholarly research in the field of Basque studies as well as the international networking of Basque scholars. The Award is presented annually to a specialist in Basque Studies selected on the basis of his/her contribution to the field and record of research achievement and scholarly innovation. Selected scholars will be in residence at the Center for Basque Studies for an academic year. Center Director Joseba Zulaika began the program, giving a presentation showing photographs from the early history of the Center for Basque Studies and stressing Bill Douglass’s accomplishments. Former College of Liberal Arts Dean, Robert Mead, who first promoted the idea of establishing a distinguished scholar position to honor Dr. Douglass, then expressed his satisfaction in seeing the award come to fruition. He was followed by John Echeverria, CBS Advisory Board chairman, who discussed the board’s involvement in fundraising for the position. William Douglass then expressed his gratitude to all in attendance, and emphasized the importance of Monreal’s involvement not only as the President of the University of the Basque Country but also as the President of Eusko Ikaskuntza. Douglass described an event for the Program’s 25th anniversary, in which Monreal gathered all the presidents of the universities in the Basque region for the occasion. Finally, Provost John Frederick presented Dr. Monreal with a plaque and expressed appreciation for having such an eminent scholar on our campus. Dr. Monreal graciously accepted, saying “My profound satisfaction is twofold: first, the opportunity to develop my work at the Center for Basque Studies, and second, to be the first scholar honored with an award that carries the name of William A. Douglass.”
Dr. Gregorio Monreal is a Professor of the History
of Law at the Public University of Navarra. He received a doctorate in
law from the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, and taught at several
universities including the Sorbonne (Paris) and the University of the
Basque Country, where he served as President for several years. He will
be at the University of Nevada for the 2005–2006 academic year,
researching and writing a book on the historical progression and
development of Basque political institutions. | |
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J. Zulaika participates in Dublin symposium In October, Joseba Zulaika participated in an international symposium at the Geary Institute, University College Dublin. The symposium was: European Public Intellectuals: Sociological Perspectives, sponsored by ANOVASOFIE, Analysing and Overcoming the Sociological Fragmentation in Europe, and funded by the European Commission, DG Research. Zulaika’s lecture was entitled “Intellectuals among Terrorists,” given in a session on Case Studies. | |
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William Douglass donates personal library to University of Navarra Former Center director William A. Douglass recently donated some 5,000 books on anthropology, part of his personal library, to the Universidad Pública de Navarra. The works are in English, Spanish, and Basque and reflect materials collected during his years of research on communities in the Basque region. His research efforts resulted in publication of some twenty monographs and numerous articles on peasant society, ethnic groups and ethnicity maintenance, Basque society, and migration studies, among other topics. On presenting the collection to the Rector of the University, Pedro Burillo López, Dr. Douglass stated that the donation reflects “the personal and professional debt that I owe to Navarra.” | |
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Boise Basques publication receives award Boise Basques: Dreamers and Doers, authored by Dr. Gloria Totoricagüena and published by the Center for Basque Studies, has been nominated for the Idaho Librarians Association Best Publication of 2004 Award.
The book is based on three years of fieldwork and
archival research with the Boise, Idaho Basque community. It is fully
indexed and includes 80 photographs with each individual painstakingly
identified. It is the fundamental text for the history, sociology,
anthropology, and oral history of the Basques and their organizations in
Boise. This hardcover publication is distributed by the University of
Nevada Press. For ordering, please call 1.877.NVBOOKS (877.682.6657).
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Basque classes offered at Cenarrusa Center, Boise The fall 2005 Basque Studies curriculum and the tentative schedule for Spring classes at Boise State University is now available at the Cenarrusa Center for Basque Studies web site. A special program is offered for members of the Basque Museum and Cultural Center and Euzkaldunak Inc. of Boise; please see the general information page regarding this offer. | |
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Joseba Gabilondo leaves CBS faculty Dr. Joseba Gabilondo, assistant professor with the Center for Basque Studies during the past four years, has accepted a position with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at Michigan State University in Lansing. We wish him the very best in his future endeavors. | |
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Totoricagüena article published in Euskonews Gloria Totoricagüena has published an article about the 2005 Jaialdi International Basque Festival, held in Boise last July, with Euskonews & Media, the electronic journal of the Eusko Ikaskuntza / Basque Studies Society in Donostia.
Dr. Totoricagüena analyzes the activities and changes to this year’s
celebration and comments on the commercial aspects of Basque identity
and the need for additional participatory activities for children, as
well as expanded educational stands and participation from Basque
Country institutions. The article can be read
online. | |
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