A Basque in Boise

The 2017 program of the Eloise Garmendia Bieter Chair will start in Boise this week

Iñaki Goirizelaia, BSU’s first Eloise Garmendia Bieter Chair (photoBoga)

The program of the Eloise Garmendia Bieter Chair that the Etxepare Basque Institute inaugurated at Boise State University will be launched on March 4 and 11. The first person to teach in the program will be Iñaki Goirizelaia, former president of the University of the Basque Country, who will impart classes to 35 students at the city with the widest Basque diaspora.

The course will explore the historical efforts that the Basques —a nation though not a nation state— have made to re-establish themselves after forty years of dictatorship in Spain. Their project to create a comprehensive political entity entails the creation of a successful and modern educational system and public media structure within Europe.

In addition, the aperture of the chair will be held on March 8. The Boise State Choir and the Boise Basque Choir will perform a selection of Basque songs followed by the opening of the photograph exhibit at the SUB titled: “Inner Strength: Portraits of Basque Immigrant Women.”

The Eloise Garmendia Bieter Chair was created through the agreement signed in July 2015. Thanks to this Chair, a visiting professor is invited to offer teaching to graduate students every year, with the aim of increasing studies and research on issues related to Basque language and culture.

This chair is named after the mother of the Mayor of Boise —David H. Bieter, the only Basque-speaking Mayor outside the Basque Country—for her commitment to Basque culture and her prominent role in the community. This Chair reinforces the teaching of Basque language and culture in Boise State University and strengthens the academic presence of Basque culture in a strategic city like Boise.

Thanks for passing by: ↓



Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


Confianza online