News | Center for Basque Studies

New Course on Gender and Basque Culture Coming Winter 2022!

Are you interested in questions related to gender and cultural representation? Then C LIT 186B / SPAN 183B Gender in Basque Culture is the right fit for you. Using Basqe culture as a case study, in this course we will explore the way in which cultural artifacts reflect, influence, reveal, resist, and contest particular beliefs abut gender and sexuality. We will analyze a wide range of literary and cultural text and films in dialogue with seminal essays in feminism and queer studies. The course is taught in English; no knowldge of Basque is required.

Basque Courses @ UCSB Fall 2021

Have you heard about the Basque? Would you like to learn more about their history and culture and how they relate to the history and culture of other minoritized ethnic groups? If so, this fall we are offering two courses that will broaden your knowledge on this subject: SPAN 153E Basque Studies and SPAN 154A Basque Language & Culture (beginners level). Questions? Please contact Dr. Estibalitz Ezkerra Vegas at eezkerravegas@ucsb.edu.

Featured Events

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“When Europe Challenges Europe, or How to Articulate Minority/Peripheral Regions Without a State in the European Union”

Guest speaker: Juan Jose Ibarretxe, former President of the Basque Autonomous Community and director of the Agirre Lehendakari Center of Social and Political Studies

Talk followed by a debate on the present and future of the Basque Autonomous Community, which comprises of three out of the seven Basque provinces on both sides of the Pyrennes.

“Is Culture a Human Right?”

Guest speaker: Professor Juan Uriagereka (University of Maryland)

A commemoration of the UNESCO International Mother Language Day with the aim of raising awareness on campus towards preserving endangered languages and fostering tolerance towards cultural and linguistic diversity. Sponsored by the IHC, Barandiaran Chair for Basque Studies, the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, and the Etxepare Basque Institute.

Verbal Kaleidoscope: First Writers and Scholars in Indigenous Languages and Literatures

Guest speakers: Maria Jose Olaziregi (EHU/UPV, Etxepare Basque Institute) and Basque authors Itxaro Borda and Leire Bilbao, among others.

Conference on indigenous literary production featuring authors from the Basque Country and Mexico.

Minority Literature, Politics, and Translation

Guest speakers: Maria Jose Olaziregi (EHU/UPV, Etxepare Basque Institute) and Aurelia Arkotxa (CNRS/IKER)

Discussion between professor Maria Jose Olaziregi, professor and Basque poet Aurelia Arkotxa, and graduate students from the departments of Comparative Literature and Spanish & Portuguese on literatures in minoritized languages and the importance of translation / self-translation.

“Basque and Standard Average European”

Guest speaker: Gontzal Aldai (EHU/UPV)

Talk by professor Gontzal Aldai, a linguist who specializes in typology, historical linguistics, and Basque (especially the historical dialectology of Basque) on Basque ergativity and uncommon grammatical features in Basque vs. SAE.

“The European Lingusitic Area: Standard Average European”

Guest speaker: Gontzal Aldai (EHU/UPV)

Talk by professor Gontzal Aldai, a linguist who specializes in typology, historical linguistics, and Basque (especially the historical dialectology of Basque) on definite and indefinite articles, comitatives and instrumentals, perfect tense, relative clauses, politeness in pronouns, word order, and case marking.

“Language Diversity in the Amazon Basin: Controversy and Comparisons”

Guest speaker: Gontzal Aldai (EHU/UPV)

Talk by professor Gontzal Aldai, a linguist who specializes in typology, historical linguistics, and Basque (especially the historical dialectology of Basque) on WALS comparisons between IE and non-IE languages.

“Language Unity vs. Diversity: Language Complexity as an Evolving Variable”

Guest speaker: Gontzal Aldai (EHU/UPV)

Talk by professor Gontzal Aldai, a linguist who specializes in typology, historical linguistics, and Basque (especially the historical dialectology of Basque) on the differences between languages.