News Archive

Call for Applications: The William A. Douglass Distinguished Scholar Award
The Center for Basque Studies of the University of Nevada, Reno is now accepting applications for the William A. Douglass Distinguished Scholar Award for the academic year 2012–2013. This award was established in 2005 in conjunction with the ministries of Education, Culture, and Foreign Affairs of the Basque Government. The Douglass Scholar must be a specialist in some aspect of Basque Studies, and the areas of expertise from which candidates are drawn may vary from year to year in order to ensure representation from a broad range of disciplines. The scholar will be chosen on the basis of his/her contribution to Basque Studies and consistent record of research, achievement and scholarly innovation. For 2012-2013, we are seeking a specialist in Art (Fine Art; Theory, History and Politics of Art). During the award period, the Distinguished Scholar is expected to complete a substantial research and writing project, which is normally published by the Center. In conjunction with CBS faculty, the Scholar is also expected to participate in an international conference in his/her field of expertise. The Center for Basque Studies organizes such conferences annually as an important part of its research mission. The Distinguished Scholar is based in Reno for the duration of the award (September 1st until June 30th) and is expected to contribute actively to the academic community at the University of Nevada, Reno. The Center provides a fully equipped office at the Center, affordable housing for the Scholar and a monthly stipend to cover living costs. Applicants should submit a detailed narrative of the proposed research (not to exceed two single-spaced pages in English) together with a résumé and the names/addresses of two referees to Ms. Kate Camino (kcamino@unr.edu), Center for Basque Studies, MS/2322, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557-2322. The deadline for completed applications is December 16, 2011. Applications may be submitted via e-mail to basque@unr.edu, by fax (775-784-1355), or may be mailed to Ms. Camino. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Professor Zulaika at zulaika@unr.edu, Professor Sandra Ott at sott@unr.edu, or contact the Center by telephone at 775-784-4854.

Joseba Zulaika gave a lecture at the 3nd Annual Critical Studies on Terrorism Lecture on September 9, 2011 in Glasgow. The lecture featured a central plenary event at the BISA CST Working Group conference, "A Decade of Terrorism and Counter-terrorism since 9/11: Taking Stock and New Directions in Research and Policy."

Over the summer, the Center for Basque Studies was visited by a number of scholars from the University of the Basque Country. One of them was Egoitz Alcaraz Franganillo, who is a PhD candidate in the sociology department. Egoitz took advantage of the Center's resources to pursue his research on the link between identity and contemporary musical production. His research looks at how the Basques have remained attached to their musical heritage and how they still keep it alive today and transmit it to the next generations. Egoitz observes that the process of learning traditional music is similar to the process of making contemporary popular music. “Both traditional and popular musicians usually do not learn to play by taking formal lessons and learning their scales”, he says, “but by imitation and trying to play what they have listened to before”.

During his visit to the CBS, Egoitz explored how Basque North Americans create their own popular music. He aims to compare this “subculture”, as he sees it, with that of Basques back in the Basque Country, which he researched for his dissertation in cultural studies. Thus Egoitz aims to shed light on the similarities and differences in the construction and expression of Basque identity through music in the Basque Country and the USA. For this purpose, Egoitz plans to return next year to the US to carry out more fieldwork and make further contact with Basque American musicians.

Egoitz also currently serves as a temporary substitute lecturer in the Department for Research and Diagnosis Methods in Education, teaching social work. In addition, he is a practicing musician, as well as an active member of an association based in Hondarribia which promotes local musical talents, international musical exchanges, and concerts.

Dr. Pedro J. Oiarzabal, former graduate student of the Center for Basque Studies, conducted research on Basque boardinghouses for one week in August as recipient of the Begoña Aretxaga´s Travel Stipend award. Oiarzabal is a Research Scholar on International Migration at the University of Deusto, Bilbao. His research examines diaspora creation and diaspora interaction with information and communication technologies as well as the meaning of identity in both homeland and diaspora realities with particular emphasis on the Basque case. Among his latest publications is Gardeners of Identity: Basques in the San Francisco Bay Area (2009), Diasporas in the New Media Age: Identity, Politics, and Community (2010), and Knowledge Communities (2011). He also writes for EiTB's Blog, Basque Identity 2.0: http://www.blogseitb.us/basqueidentity20/

Former Center for Basque Studies PhD Graduates Argitxu Camus Etchecopar and Juan Arana Cobos will become lecturers at the Paris Sorbonne University and Liverpool University respectively. Camus´and Arana´s lectureships will be funded by the Etxepare Basque Institute, dedicated to promoting Basque language and culture. Argitxu Camus has conducted extensive research on Basque emigration in Paris, the result of which became the book "La Maison Basque de Paris", whereas Juan Arana´s interests have focused on Basque art. His dissertation "Jorge Oteiza: Art as Sacrament, Avant-Garde and Magic" is planned to be published this year by the Center for Basque Studies Press, as well as his comparative work "Oteiza y Unamuno: dos Tragedias Epigonales de la Modernidad" by the Museum and Foundation Jorge Oteiza. Zorionak Argitxu and Juan!

During the month of July, the Centre for Basque Studies welcomes the visit of two professors from Paris, Maitane Ostolaza and Enric Porqueres.  Both come with the two-fold mission of strengthening their contact with the CBS and making the most of the resources of the CBS library for their particular research goals.

Maitane, who is professor at the University of the Sorbonne (Paris IV) and member there of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Contemporary Iberian Worlds (CRIMIC), benefits from a Begona Aretxaga scholarship. She also belongs to the University of the Basque Country’s research team, working on “The Basque Nationalism in Comparative Perspective,” directed by Santiago de Pablo. Maitane is a historian working on education and processes of acculturation in the Basque Country of the 19th century.  The Aretxaga scholarship enables her to pursue her particular interest in the oral poetic genre of bertsugintza as a cultural practice. While these poems or bertsus are traditionally improvised orally in public settings, many were noted down, or even composed by people in private. These written bertsus make up what is known as the bertsu paperak, and it is these that Maitane intends to research whilst at the CBS, since the center benefits of a rich collection of such papers.  Over the last few days, Maitane has already discovered in the CBS’ library files an array of letters and notes written by Basques both in the USA, and back in the Basque Country. ‘They express’, she says, ‘very powerful notions of the self and sense of group belonging, and reflections on what it is to be Basque, religious, part of an Euskal Herria, as gender issues’. Through these bertsu paperak, Maitane has the opportunity to delve into the intimate biography and musings of nineteenth century Basques and trace their family and social networks, and thereby better understand how they made sense of their personal and collective experiences in the context of bertsu-making. ‘It would be good’, she affirms, ‘to pursue long term study on this subject, trace these people through generations and, in this way, observe how notions of personal and collective identity have evolved with time’.

As for Enric, he is professor and director of studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) and member of the Laboratory of anthropology of institutions and social organisations (LAIOS). He comes to the CBS thanks to a travel grant from the EHESS and an invitation from the center.  As an anthropologist who also works with history, Enric’s research has focused on evolving political and cultural notions of kinship. During his time at the CBS, Enric will investigate the question of ius sanguinis and ius soli in understandings of identity amongst Basques before and during the civil war in Spain, and how the importance of a blood link for Basque identity was increasingly replaced with an attachment to territory. His research is also from a so-called bottom-up perspective as he notes that such changing notions of Basque identity contrasted with official political discourses, which continued on the whole to emphasize the blood link, though some Basque nationalist factions were beginning then to open up to other possible criteria. ‘It is throughout the period prior to and during the civil war,’ Enric notes, ‘that there was this shift in popular cultural notions of identity, when people began to claim Basqueness by simply living in the Basque Country and militating in Basque nationalism’. In the CBS archives, Enric can delve into numerous personal accounts written by Basques during this time, some who were in exile, and others who remained in the Basque Country. These accounts reveal how Basques made sense of themselves in relation to a sense of territory, while at the same time kin links continued to form a major part of their social networks. ‘This kind of material is most often analyzed from the perspective of political, sociological or war studies; it’s very exciting to present it now through the lens of cultural studies’.

The Journal of Folklore Research reviews The Basques by Julio Caro Baroja.

USAC Scholarship: Legacy Scholarship
In celebration of USAC’s 30th year and to honor our long history in international education, new Legacy Scholarships are now available to the families—children, siblings, and spouses—of USAC alumni to attend a USAC Specialty Program (Alicante, Bangalore, Bilbao, Chengdu, Heredia, Lüneburg, Madrid, Pau, Prague, Puebla, Puntarenas, San Ramón, San Sebastián, Santiago, Shanghai, Torino, Viterbo). Awards will be given in the amount of $100 for winter session, $300 for summer session, and $500 for semester. Applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis, with the final deadline being 30 days prior to departure.

Visit here: http://usac.unr.edu/moneymatters/financing/scholarships.aspx

Oscar Alavarez Gila publishes article, "Cartas desde América. Dos visiones de los Estados Unidos en la correspondencia de emigrantes vascos" in Anuário do Centro de Estudos de Histórica do Atlântico, Funchal, 2 (2010), pp. 879-897 (ISSN 1647-3949) View Article.

Oscar Alvarez Gila was member of the scientific committee of the international congress "As Escritas da Emigración" ("The Writings of Emigration"), organized by the Center for Studies of Atlantic History (CEHA) from Madeira. The congress will be held from June 26 to 29 in Funchal and the John Dos Passos Cultural Center in Ponta do Sol, Madeira. He will also present the paper "National Identities and Ethnic Stereotypes in the Autobiography by Basque Immigrant José Joaquín Esandi (Bahia Blanca, Argentina)"

Speakers, Gaizka Mejuto and Julio Calleja give lectures on Monday, June 13, 2011.

Gaizka Mejuto: 

1. "Basque Mountaineering. Basajaunaren Eremutik Himalayara. From Mythology to Modern Expeditions" 35'

2. "19 years of NO Supplementary Oxygen. A Single Case Study of a Basque Legendary Climber" 35'

Julio Calleja:

1. "Traineras. Towards Understand Why Are so Competitive" 60'

Oscar Alvarez Gila was invited to present the paper "Sheep, Wine, Baskets and Bullets. Almost a Hundred Years of Basque Immigration in American Cinema" at the 2011 Basque Studies Symposium, organized by the California State University Bakersfield: Bakersfield, CA, 27 May 2011. This paper summarizes the first outcomes of the research that I have been doing during my stay at the CBS as Visiting Scholar. View the flyer.

Oscar Alvarez Gila presented the paper "Los retornos imaginados en la memoria de la emigración contemporánea vasca: el indiano enriquecido, el americano descreído y el patriota redentor", at the International Conference "Return migration in the literary and cultural history of Romance-speaking countries, organized by the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität: Freiburg, Germany, 17-19 March 2011 View Program.

Oscar Alvarez Gila will present the paper "Climate events and migration in Ecuador: Consequences of the extreme 1997-1998 El Niño event" at The Nansen Conference: Climate Change and Displacement in the 21st Century, to be held at Oslo, June 5-7, 2011, This paper will highlight the outcomes of a main research performed by an European team of seven universities and enterprises, that worked from 2007 to 2009 on the study of the links between environmental changes and migration in today's world. View the Nansen Conference website.

You are invited to an art exibition at the Musée Historique de Biarritz by Zoe Bray, Assistant Professor to the Center for Basque Studies

Title of exhibition: 'People and Places / Des gens et des lieux'

Musée Historique de Biarritz, Rue Broquedis, 64200 Biarritz

Open from 10am to 1pm and from 2.30 to 6.30pm everyday except Sundays and Mondays, until 27 August 2011

Zoe Bray is of dual British and French nationality. Born in Paris, she then went to university in Edinburgh and Florence. Recently she also lived in Berlin, and has now begun a new position as assistant professor at the Centre for Basque Studies, at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Zoe's paintings are naturalistic in style. She paints directly from life and has a realistic approach. Trained also as a social anthropologist, she has a particular interest and sensitivity in painting people.

In this exhibition, Zoe Bray shows some of her recent paintings in oil, landscapes and portraits of individuals she met in the Basque Country, Berlin and Italy. Amongst some of these portraits are famous figures of contemporary Basque culture, including the artists Nestor Basterretxea and José Antonio Sistiaga and the choreographer and writer Philippe Oyhamburu. There are also portraits of other individuals which Zoe painted in different settings, some in the intimacy of their homes and some in her studio.

Download flyer

www.zoebray.net

Oscar Alvarez Gila and Eneko Sanz Goikoetxea have coauthored the article "El exilio institucional: El Gobierno autonómico vasco y sus delegaciones en el exterior (1937-1965)" in the latest issue of the journal Guregandik, published in Argentina by the Centro de Estudios Arturo Campión.

Oscar Alvarez Gila, along with Ana Ugalde Zaratiegui and Virginia Lopez de Maturana, from the University of the Basque Country, have coauthored the article "Western Sahara: Migration, Exile and Environment", in the vol. 49 (Spring 2011) of International Migration.

The article deals with the relationship between environmental changes and migratory processes. The article concludes that the environment seems to play a crucial role in determining the rhythm and other features of the migratory flows abroad from the refugee camps on the Polisario ruled part of Western Sahara and Tindouf

Oscar Alvarez Gila and Susana Cano Garramuño have coauthored the article "Inmigración, colonización y religión: el desarrollo de Bahía Blanca (Argentina) a través de las memorias de José Joaquín Esandi (1870-1925)", published in the latest issue of Migraciones&Exilios (nº 11, 2010), a Spanish journal on history of migration.

Discover The Basque Country July 5-9, 2011

Five days of sublime behind-the-scenes access to cuisine and culture with the personal attention of your hosts; founder of San Sebastián Food Jon Warren and acclaimed author Paddy Woodworth. Come with us on another unique, small-group adventure to 'discover the Basque Country'.

More Information

AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL MUNDO ANTE LA GUERRA CIVIL ESPAÑOLA

El Centro Cultural y Educativo Español Los Reyes Católicos y la Universidad Nacional de Colombia En el marco del Octavo curso sobre historia de España y América Invitan al SEMINARIO INTERNACIONAL: AMÉRICA LATINA Y EL MUNDO ANTE LA GUERRA CIVIL ESPAÑOLA

Folleto Guerra Vivil Definitive.pdf

Oscar Alvarez publishes article: "Glory (1989). Una visión dramatizada sobre el origen de los Buffalo Soldiers"

in RUBIO POBES, Coro (ed.);  La historia a través del cine. Estados Unidos: una mirada a su imaginario colectivo, Bilbao, Universidad del País Vasco, 2010, pp. 19-50.

The Protection of Cultural Diversity: Language Rights and Legal Pluralism

March 22-26, 2011

This tenth annual conference of the Center for Basque Studies will bring together a select group of scholars from Europe, Oceania, Canada and the United States whose research broadly relates to the protection of cultural diversity: language rights and legal pluralism. Themes include Cultural Rights and Language Rights, Ecology of Language, Language Imperialism and Discrimination, and Proactive Language Policies. Subthemes include Language, Minorities and Human Rights, Legality and Diversity, Collective Rights: Group Self-Preservation, Freedom of Speech and Language Rights, Linguistic Imperialism, Endangered Languages and Self-Determination and, Language Revitalization.

The conference proceedings will be published by the Center for Basque Studies (Conference Paper Series) in 2012.

Oscar Alvarez publishes a set of articles on History of the Delegations of the Basque Government, in "Euskonews"

The Center for Basque Studies is pleased to announce the recent release of the book "Patriotas entre naciones. Élites emigrantes españolas en Argentina (1870-1840)"

A collective book directed by Marcela García Sebastiani and published by Editorial Complutense of Madrid (ISBN: 978-84-9938-043-8).

Among other contributions on several biographies of Spanish, Catalan, Galician and Basque leaders of their immigrant communities in Argentina, I would highlight this one for two reasons: first, because it is the only one devoted to a Basque, and second, because I am a coauthor:

Ángeles de Dios Altuna de Martina and Oscar Alvarez Gila; "José R. de Uriarte y la revista La Baskonia: una visión atípica de la colectividad vasca de Argentina de entre siglos", pp. 339-360.

Link to the publisher:

The Center for Basque Studies is delighted to announce the appointment of a new faculty member, Zoe Bray

Zoe Bray joins the department on July 1, 2011. Zoe has a Master's in social anthropology from the University of Edinburgh and a doctorate from the European University Institute in Florence. Her monograph, Living Boundaries: Frontiers and Identity in the Basque Country (2004), examines the ways in which individuals construct and express their identities in the Basque borderlands, using a cross-frontier collaborative project as its principal focus. Dr. Bray has worked on numerous collaborative projects with Michael Keating and is currently developing her ideas on Basque art and ethnography. She is also an accomplished professional artist. In the fall semester of 2011, she will teach a course on Basque Gender Studies and is creating a new course on Basque and European art and artists for the spring 2012. The staff and faculty of the CBS extend a warm welcome to Zoe!

The Center for Basque Studies welcomes new Webmaster, Michelle Keele

The CBS is also pleased to welcome Michelle Keele to the department as our Webmaster and editor of the CBS Newsletter, the next edition of which is scheduled to appear in November 2011. Michelle is studying Interior Design at UNR and comes to the Center from Gender, Race, and Identity. We are delighted to count you as a colleague, Michelle!

Sandy Ott teaches at Boise State University on "War, Occupatiion, and Justice in the Basque Country, 1936-1946"

On March 5th and 6th Sandy Ott taught a one-credit course at Boise State University on "War, Occupation, and Justice in the Basque Country, 1936-1946." Thirty students enrolled in the course, which explored civil war in Spain, exile in France during the interwar years, and then focused primarily upon the Basques' experience of German occupation and the post-liberation search for truth and justice.

Alvarez presents paper at International Workshop on History and Migration

Oscar Alvarez and Jon Ander Ramos (UPV-EHU) gave a paper entitled, "Daughters, Wives or Widows. Women's Participation in Basque Immigrants' Institutions in Latin America," at the International Workshop on History and Migration entitled Beyond the Border, Behind the Men: The Invisibility of Female Migration held December 16 and 17 in Gasteiz.

The paper focused on the way Basque historiography in migratory movements has presented the specific topic of female migration. Alvarez and Ramos consider that there have been a lot of prejudices and misconceptions that have been detrimental to the true knowledge and interpretation of the role played by women in all stages of migration, from decision-making to the actual process of migration, alone and within family groups.

The workshop was sponsored by the Department of Medieval, Modern and American History of the University of the Basque Country. It was organized by Oscar Alvarez Gila, Alberto Angulo Morales, Jon ANder Ramos Martinez, Ana Isabel Ugalde Gorostiza.

This was the second of a series of workshops that a group of European historians on Migration aim to celebrate annually, with the objective of: a) promoting the study of Migration from a historical point of view; b) promoting the mutual knowledge and interrelation of historians who study migration in different parts of the continent; and c)creating a research network that can apply for European Union or other funding.

Sandy Ott writes successful Grant Proposal

Together with a colleague in the Anthropology Department, Louis Forline, Sandy Ott wrote a successful grant proposal to bring a Brazilian specialist on Amazonian cultures to the campus in March 2011. Dr. Nilson Gabas is the director of a prestigious museum in Belem, Brazil. He will give a Hilliard lecture in March 2011, that will kick off the 10th annual CBS conference on "The Protection of Cultural Diversity," organized by Xabier Irujo.

The College of Liberal Arts Hilliard Endowment in the Humanities provides support to bring scholars in the humanities and related fields to campus for public appearances. The Hilliard Endowment was established in 1972 from the estate of Emily Hilliard. The Endowment was originally named the Albert and Emily Hilliard Chair in the Humanities. Mrs. Hilliard's husband Albert had been a regent of the university, an attorney, and a leader in the Democratic party.

Since its inception the endowment has made it possible to bring many distinguished scholars and contributors to the arts and humanities to the UNR campus. These visitors have included poets Billy Collins and Allen Ginsberg, writers John Balaban, Hayden Carruth, Dorianne Laux, John Nichols, and Robert Pinsky, historians William Beezley, Geoffrey Eley, and Hugh Trevor-Roper, artist Wendy Ewald, photographer Galen Rowell, and Basque scholar Juan Avalle-Arce. The Endowment has also occasionally partnered with other humanities organizations to bring speakers to Reno.

Call for Applications: The William A. Douglass Distinguished Scholar Award

The Center for Basque Studies of the University of Nevada, Reno is now accepting applications for the William A. Douglass Distinguished Scholar Award for the academic year 2011–2012. This award was established in 2005 in conjunction with the ministries of Education, Culture, and Foreign Affairs of the Basque Government. The Douglass Scholar must be a specialist in some aspects of Basque Studies, and the areas of expertise from which candidates may vary from year to year in order to ensure representation from a broad range of disciplines. The scholar will be chosen on the basis of his/her contribution to Basque Studies and consistent record of research, achievement and scholarly innovation. For 2011-2012, we are seeking a specialist in sports.

During the award period, the Distinguished Scholar is expected to complete a substantial research and writing project, which is normally published by the Center. In conjunction with CBS faculty, the Scholar is also expected to participate in an international conference in his/her field of expertise. The Center for Basque Studies organizes such conferences annually as an important part of its research mission. The Distinguished Scholar is based in Reno for the duration of the award (September 1st until July 31st) and is expected to contribute actively to the academic community at the University of Nevada, Reno. The Center provides a fully equipped office at the Center, affordable housing for the Scholar and a monthly stipend to cover living costs.

Applicants should submit a detailed narrative of the proposed research (not to exceed two single-spaced pages in English) together with a résumé and the names/addresses of two referees to Ms. Kate Camino (kcamino@unr.edu), Center for Basque Studies, MS/2322, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557-2322.

The deadline for completed applications is December 17, 2010.  

Applications may be submitted via e-mail to basque@unr.edu, by fax (775-784-1355), or may be mailed to Ms. Camino. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Professor Zulaika at zulaika@unr.edu, Professor Sandra Ott at sott@unr.edu, or contact the Center by telephone on 775-784-4854.

Joseba Zulaika publishes article, "Is Bilbao a Woman?"

The article was published in Bidebarrieta (21:2010), a social science and humanities journal on Bilbao.

"Is Bilbao a Woman?: From Picasso to Gehry, Ariadne's Lunar Labyrinth," analyzes the historical figures of María Díaz de Haro, the Virgin of Begoña, the ghost woman with goat's feet of the "intruder" Don Diego López de Haro, the horn-shaped headgear of XVI century women, as well as the real women of Bilbao today. The cliché that you can't get laid in Bilbao is examined using the Lacanian maxim that "sexual relations do not exist". The discussion also covers the subjects of Basque matriarchy, symbolic castration, fetishism, forms of masculine-feminine sexuality, and the argument is made for a "feminine subjectivity", as the central political and ethical issue of contemporary Basque society.

Ott's upcoming publications

As editor of the translation of a classic Basque text, Les Basques by Philippe Veyrin, Sandy Ott wrote an introduction to the book and translated part of it from French to English. The book will appear early in 2011. Ott is also editing a CBS book, War, Exile, Justice, and Everyday Life (1936-1946), that resulted from the 2010 CBS conference on those themes that she organized with Santi de Pablo, last year's Visiting Douglass Scholar. Ott also contributed a chapter entitled "The Enemy as Insider: German POWs as Trial Witnesses in the Basses-Pyrénées, 1944-1946." The volume will appear in early 2011.

CBS Douglass Scholar co-author of Urazandi publication

Oscar Alvarez, Angulo Morales, and Eneko Sanz have published their work, Las Delegaciones de Euskadi (1936-1975). Antecedentes históricos de los siglos XVI al XIX, origen y desarrollo, in the Basque Government's Urazandi series.

This book contributes to this field of research by focusing on the main entities of Basque foreign relations, the Basque delegations during the dark decades of the Franco dictatorship. It accomplishes this from a global perspective, beginning with their roots, the representatives in the Spanish Court in Madrid between the XVI and XIX centuries up to the the first Basque Government's launching of a foreign presence. This was accomplished first in Spanish cities with the intention of maintaining smooth relations with the government of the republic. Later, the same was carried out in Europe and America in order to develop diplomacy in order to combat the Franco regime.

Alvarez coauthored the chapters on the creation of Basque Delegations during Franco's regime.

ISBN 978-84-457-3068-3

Zulaika publishes article in bilingual journal comparing two very different diaries written at the time of the Gernika bombing

The article, "Gernikako Ondare Amaigabea: Von Richthophen, Aita Patxi eta Lenin" has been published in Russian and in Basque in the bilingual online journal, Gernika, 2010 (3).

View Article

Alvarez Speaks on Aging in Bilbao

On October 1, 2010, Oscar Alvarez participated in the presentation of Bizkaia's Plan for Active Aging  held in Bilbao. His paper was entitled, "De la edad de oro al tiempo de las oportunidades: La vejez a lo largo de la historia." It dealt with the concept of oldness throughout history.

Read more on his blog

Basque America represented at Association of European Migration Institutions' Seminar and Annual Meeting

Oscar Alvarez and Pedro Oiarzabal participated in the Association of European Migration Institutions' Seminar and Annual Meeting 2010. This years' edition was entitled,   "Migration Studies, Information and Communication Technologies."  It was held in Bilbao on September 29 – October 2.

On Thursday, September 30, Alvarez, our current William Douglass Distinguished Scholar, along with Alberto Angulo and Jon Ander Ramos presented their  paper, "Basques in the American press." The program of digitalization of historical sources on Basque Migration overseas." In the same session Basque-American webmaster Blas Uberuaga presented "Video Showing" followed by CBS graduate Dr. Pedro Oiarzabal with his paper, "Cartography of the Basque Diaspora Online: Preserving Migrant Digital Culture."

On October 1, Nina Ray from Boise State University and Patty Miller from the Basque Museum and Cultural Center also gave presentations.

For more, visit Dr. Alvarez' blog

Joseba Zulaika speaks on terrorism at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Zulaika participated in a conference "Geographies of Risk" organized by the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, September 23-24, with a paper entitled "When Non-Risk Becomes Risky: The Case of Terrorism Envy."

Zulaika reviews book on 11M terror attacks

Zulaika's review of "Tres dias que conmovieron España: Tres periódicos y el 11M." by Carlos Javier Garcia has been published in Critical Studies on Terrorrism, 3(2):329-331.

The book deals with the way the attacks were portrayed in the media.

Joseba Zulaika's article,  "The Terror/Counterterror Edge: When Non-terror Becomes a Terrorism Problem and Real Terror Cannot be Detected by Counterterrorism" has been published in  Critical Studies on Terrorrism, 3(2):247-260.

On the basis of cases such as the recent ban on the building of minarets in Switzerland or the prohibition on wearing a burka in France and the Netherlands, and the passage of terrorism legislation in various European countries in which there has never been a terrorism problem, as well as the recent history of counterterrorism in the United States, this article examines how non-terror can become a terrorism problem and non-risk ideologically risky, while at the same time the real threats go undetected. The international prominence gained by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Mara Aznar when the George W. Bush administration declared a worldwide 'War on Terror' shows the political capital attached to terrorist risk. Countries may act as if afflicted by a case of 'terrorism envy' when non-risk may be perceived as political irrelevance. This article argues that the dynamics of terrorism/counterterrorism should be seen in the cultural context of taboo while displaying the qualities of the Lacanian edge: a self-generating process that simultaneously links and separates them in a 'non-relationship' that is constitutive of the entire phenomenon.

More Information

Assistant Professor, Basque Studies Position Available

Tenure track position (12-month contract) at Assistant Professor level in the Center for Basque Studies, University of Nevada, Reno.

Requirements include a Ph.D. in a relevant discipline within the humanities or social sciences; a demonstrated record of undergraduate teaching and of original research resulting in scholarly publications that relate to the Basques in the homeland or the diaspora. Position available July 1, 2011. Deadline for applications: November 12, 2010. For further information and complete position requirements, refer to https://www.unrsearch.com/postings/8444. EEO/AA.

Oscar Alvarez  participated in the XIV Encuentro de Latinoamericanistas Españoles held September 15-18, 2010

The conference was organized by the Spanish Council of Ibero-American Studies and hosted by the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, under the main title "200 years of Latin America, 1810-2010." Alvarez participated in the conference via Skype.

Alvarez, along with  Marcelino Irianni from Argentina conducted the eighth seminar, entitled "De las Independencias a los centenarios. Presencia inmigrante en las repúblicas americanas" (From independence to centennials. Immigrant Presence in American Republics).

Alvarez presented the paper "El clero vasco y la expulsión de los peninsulares tras la independencia de Argentina (1810-1820)" (The Basque clergy and the expulsion of Spaniards after Argentina's independence (1810-1820). The paper deals with one of the less researched outcomes of independence: the fate of the people born in Europe after Argentina became an independent nation. He focused on the case of Basque clergy, both European-born (peninsulares) and American-born (criollos). To a certain extent, the reaction in the face of the process of political emancipation of Argentina is also the demonstration of the generation gap that was between immigrants and their descendants.

José Angel Hernández, who is currently a visiting researcher at the CBS, also participated in the same conference and seminar with the paper: "El exilio republicano español en Colombia. El caso de los pedagogos y su aporte al desarrollo cultural colombiano".

Conference web site

Corcostegui inducted into guild of sword dancers of Our Lady of Arrate in Eibar, Gipuzkoa

On September 8, 2010 Lisa Corcostegui performed Arrateko Amaren Ezpata Dantza in the yearly Gipuzkoan ritual and became a member of the guild of sword dancers. Her fellow inductees were her husband Enrike Corcostegui of Reno, Fernando Aristizabal of Donostia, Ion Olano of Tolosa, and Andoni Iriondo of Deba.

The inductees were invited by Kezka Dantza Taldea and Oier Araolaza, dancer and dance scholar.

Corcostegui attends Antzinako meeting in Zugarramurdi

On September 4, 2010, the Center's genealogy consultant Lisa Corcostegui attended the annual meeting of Antzinako, a society for genealogy and local history of Araba, Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Nafarroa.

Antzinako members met in Zugarramurdi and held the meeting after a tour of the caves near the Akelarre field made famous during the seventeenth century Basque witch craze.

Former CBS Basque language instructor, Amagoia Guezuraga, who serves as the group's vice president was also in attendance.

New PhD Students welcomed into CBS Family

Tania Arriaga, Iban Galletebeitia, and Iker Arranz have begun their studies at the Center.

Tania's field is communications. After finishing a degree in in Journalism at the University of the Basque Country, she completed two years of advanced studies in New Technologies in Communication at the same institution. Since then she has worked in radio, TV, Web pages, comics, video-creation and press. Her interests are science fiction, anthropology, creativity, networking, psychology and listening, reading or seeing stories. 

Iban is from Lekeitio, Bizkaia. He graduated from the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) in 2008 with a degree in political and administration sciences. He holds a master's degree in community development and participatory democracy, also from UPV-EHU. He began his doctoral studies in government and compared analysis in 2009-2010 at UPV-EHU. He has been a member and the chairman of the department of sociology at the Basque Summer University (UEU) since December, 2009. He has conducted research in environmental conflicts communication at UPV-EHU. Xabier Irujo and Mario Zubiaga (EHU) are the co-chairs of Iban's dissertation committee.

Iker is from Tolosa. He is a graduate in Philosophy from the University of the Basque Country. He holds a Master's Degree in Moral Philosophy as well as a Pedagogy Degree. His interests are Moral Philosophy, Cultural and Linguistic Anthropology and Contemporary Philosophers. His directors are Xabier Irujo and Xabier Insausti.

As the CBS director of graduate studies, Dr. Ott helped the new graduate students find an apartment, become acquainted with UNR and with Reno. Funded by the Basque Government on UNR graduate assistantships, they have enlivened and enhanced the "CBS family" through their energy, enthusiasm, and hard work.

The Center Welcomes Oscar Alvarez Gila as the 2010-2011 William Douglass Distinguished Scholar

Oscar Alvarez Gila has a Ph.D. degree in History at the University of the Basque Country. He is in charge of teaching History of America at the same university, and during the academic year 2008-2009 he was Visiting Fellow at the European Studies Centre of the University of Oxford, U.K. He will be in residence at UNR as the W. Douglass Distinguished Visiting Scholar for the 2010-2011 academic year.

His main research interest is the study of international migrations during the 19th and 20th centuries, especially the mass migration from the Basque Country in northern Spain and southwestern France to the Americas. He has been involved in research about the linkages between environment and migration from a historical perspective.