Our visitors

Pete Cenarrusa Visits the Center for Basque Studies 9/10/2009

Pete Cenarrusa visited on September 10 to discuss the final details of his memoirs that will be published by the Center in the next few months. Pete was accompanied by Cenarrusa Foundation board member Roy Eiguren.

Pete T. Cenarrusa has served fifty-two years in the State of Idaho-nine terms in the House of Representatives (1950-1967); as a Speaker of the House in 1963, 1965 and 1967; and six terms as Secretary of State (1967-2002) for the Republican Party.

Visiting Scholar Karlos Pérez de Armiño spoke about The Failure in the Fight against Hunger 8/29/2009

In a talk at the Center for Basque Studies Dr. Pérez de Armiño shared some of the conclusions of his research at UNR during the summer of 2009. In his talk, he analyzed the underlying reasons why national and international policies against hunger are failing.

This failure should be understood as the result of a lack of political will, as we have enough theoretical knowledge, technical resources, and political experience so that hunger could be eradicated at a moderate financial cost. The persistence of hunger means moreover a violation of different international political goals to fight it and of human rights covenants.

This research gives some tentative explanations of this political failure, taken from different disciplines. It underlines that the political commitment against hunger is weakened by many perceptions of hunger as a “normal” and inevitable problem, by the lack of political power of poor people, and by the weakness of the idea of global citizenship.  Some other factors are that the human right to food is neglected and not enforceable, that there is no international body to make states accountable for their commitments on hunger, and that world architecture is fragmented into sovereign states with agendas dominated by national interest and security concerns.

Karlos Pérez de Armiño is a Professor of International Relations at the University of the Basque Country , and Research Fellow at HEGOA, the Institute of Studies on Development and International Cooperation, in Bilbao.

Visiting Scholar Katixa Agirre shares dissertation research on the Lolita myth in Hollywood cinema in presentation at the Center for Basque Studies 8/20/2009

Katixa's project pursues the study of the filmic representations of the Lolita myth. Based on Vladimir Nabokov’s infamous novel Lolita (1955), the term has run away from the book and has fueled many a mediated portrayal of young girls as inviting and willing participants in their own sexual exploitation. Biased readings of the book along with a patriarchal view have contributed to this change in the perception of Lolita. Advertisements, fashion, pop music, magazines, TV and even the porn industry have used the Lolita icon as a repulsive yet fascinating character.

Ms. Agirre has chosen to examine the film representations in which a Lolita-type character appears, and has focused on contemporary Hollywood cinema and more specifically, on what is nowadays known as postmodern cinema.

Katixa Agirre is a temporary lecturer at the Audiovisual Communication and Advertising department of the UPV/EHU in Leioa. During the summer of 2009 she has been finalizing her PhD. dissertation on the Lolita myth in Hollywood, using the resources of the Knowledge Centerat UNR.

Seeking Simplicity: Rocío Suárez speaks on addressing multiple needs in architecture 8/18/2009

Dr. Súarez emphasized the importance of the relationship between the client’s needs, the physical environment, and cultural and social conditions.

She described how her designs respond to these needs employing various materials and technologies. Her project “37LR” was used as an illustration of her vision of architecture as sculpture with formal, aesthetic and stylistic value. Dr. Súarez explained how theory and methodology are integrated into spaces to improve their quality for those who inhabit them, and endow the people who live in them with fresh perspectives. She views architecture as a point of departure for personal and social development in  balance with the environment.

Dr. Súarez is an architect and part-time professor at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Puebla, Mexico.

Visiting scholarJosé Valderrama offered glimpse at contemporary Mexican art 8/18/2009

Dr. Valderrama spoke on the relationship between theory and practice in art. He discussed his own creative process as a point of departure for looking at works created by contemporary visual artists.

He described philosophical and aesthetic attitudes about cultural consumption of art pieces as symbolic or transcendent objects. Through the display of various slides, he analyzed the subjective and interpretive relationship between our perception and the intention of the artist. Valderrama also discussed art as an event, as a strategy of integrating the local into the global and vice versa. In conclusion, he examined the role that art plays today in many fields from education to science, and a new concept of aesthetic information.

Dr. Valderrama is a visual artist and a research professor at he Universidad Iberoamericana in Puebla, Mexico.

Visiting scholar Virginia Senosian spoke on international global warming policy at Center for Basque Studies 8/18/2009

According to Dr. Sensiain, global warming is not the first environmental problem in history, but it is the most important and the most global. We need global answers, and we need them now. If we do nothing, it could be too late.

 The International Community has been working on this problem, led by the United Nations. It is not as simple as changing some habits. We must change our mindset and philosophy and focus on sustainable development as the only way to leave this world as a legacy to the next generations. In this context and promoted by the United Nations, the two critical international meetings, which set the principles of new Environmental Law and commitments for the nations who have ratified them: the “United Nations Climate Change Conference” of 1992, and, the “Kyoto Protocol” of 1997.

Dr. Senosian’s research is based on the different perspectives of United States and European Union about global warming and consistent climate change. The ways they approach the problem are radically different: the European Union had ratified Kyoto and the United States have never ratified it, following their own environmental policy.

Dr. Senosian is a civil and criminal attorney. She teaches public international law and European Union law at the University of the Basque Country.

Visiting scholars Arantza Fernandez Zabala and Eider Goñi Palacios present psychology research at the Center for Basque Studies 8/12/2009

The study of self-image continues to be one of the greatest challenges of  psychological research. A wide field of research exists in which both the physical and academic dimensions have been examined. However, very little research has been carried out on social self-image and personal self-image. Arantza Fernandez Zabala and Eider Goñi Palacios, members of Psikor, an educational psychology research group at the University of the Basque Country, are carrying out two theses in order to find out if the factorial analyses confirm a multidimensional structure of three components of social self-image (social responsibility, social acceptance and social competence) and of four components of personal self-image (self-fulfilment, honesty, autonomy, and emotional adjustment). The results obtained from two questionnaires specifically designed to measure both domains (APE and AUSO) confirm this structure for the most part. Complementary results support the fact that while women’s personal self-perceptions are lower than men’s, men’s social self-perceptions are higher than women’s; on the other hand, the tendency of personal and social self-image is to increase in accordance with age. Arantza and Eider also studied the associations between personal self-image and emotional intelligence, psychological well-being and life satisfaction, as well as the relationship between social self-image, loneliness, and social skills.

Beatriz Gallego Muñoz, doctoral student at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia in anthropology, visited the Center for Basque Studies in July and August 2009. Her study revolves around the image of Basque women in the American West and she conducted interviews with several Basque-American women during her stay.

Beatriz was the recipient of the Begoña Aretxaga Memorial Research Stipend.

Igor Calzada, sociologist and senior researcher-director for a project on the Mondragon Cooperative at Mondragon University (Spain), is a visiting scholar at the Center from summer 2008–2009. Mr. Calzada is conducting research at UNR on “The Basque City: Social Innovation and Creativity” and recently received a research award for the project, presented by the Spanish prince Felipe de Borbón, in Madrid on May 28, 2008. The project is being developed in collaboration with the Center.

Calzada has worked as Project Director and Principal Researcher at the Mondragon Innovation and Knowledge Research Center (MIK), of one of the largest corporations in Spain; and MCC Group, Mondragon Cooperative Corporation. He is also an instructor at Mondragón University, teaching postgraduate courses on management, innovation, and creativity. He holds and Advanced Degree from Helsinki University (Finland) and an MBA from Deusto University (Spain).

http://www.igorcalzada.com

Visiting scholar Axier Oiarbide discusses Basque sports

Axier Oiarbide of the Department of Physical Education, University of the Basque Country gave a presentation on March 31 at the University of Nevada, Reno on “Una etnografía sobre futbol: el Ordizia Kirol Elkartea en la preferente Guipuzcoana.” Axier Oiarbide is an instructor in the Department of Physical Education, University of the Basque Country, and is finishing his doctoral dissertation based on a comparison of three physical activities: mountain trekking, aerobic exercise, and soccer (futbol). He was a visiting scholar at UNR during March, sponsored by the University Studies Abroad Consortium.

EuskoSare representative Urruty visits the Center

Idoya Salaburu Urruty, USA Representative for EuskoSare, visited the University of Nevada, Reno on April 18 in order to interview the staff and visitors at the Center for Basque Studies in conjunction with the celebration of the CBS’ 40th Anniversary. Urruty will be producing regular articles about the CBS and its projects during the next few months. EuskoSare is an initiative of Eusko Ikaskuntza, the Basque Studies Society, and promotes information exchange from and about Basques around the world.

Estibalitz Ezkerra, a Bachelor in Journalism and Art History at the University of the Basque Country, is researching at UNR on a USAC stipend for a year during 2006–2007. She is investigating the marginalization instances related to cultural and psychological differences in Western Literature. She also plans to write about Basque American matters for the Basque media.

Iñaki Goiogana, head of the archive of the Sabino Arana Foundation, Basque Country, spent the month of September in the Center and Basque Library.

During that time he helped Nere Erkiaga, current head of Basque Library, to improve the database of the Basque Archive. He also took part in the conference organized by the Center for International Conflict Resolution, Columbia University (NY), on October 13 on the figure of Jesus Galindez, the Basque politician who was kidnapped in Manhattan fifty years ago.

Egoitz Gago Anton, a Bachelor in Politic Sciences in the University of the Basque Country and Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Peace Studies, University of Brandford (UK), spent a month in September 2006 in the Center and Basque Library to research around the subject he is planning to investigate in his PhD: the basque peace movement organizations and their effects on civic societies. Before going back to England, where he currently lives, he gave a presentation of his work in the Instruction Room of Getchell Library.

Iratxe Fresneda visited the University for two months in  summer 2006 on a subsidy from USAC. She is from the Audiovisual Communications Dept. of the University of the Basque Country in Leioa, where she teaches history of film. She worked on a research project on the films of Lars Von Trier, utilizing resources in UNR’s main library. On September 1, she gave a presentation at UNR on “Visual Identity of the Cinema of Danish Filmmaker Lars Von Trier.”

Joseba Etxebeste of the Dept. of Physical Education and Sports of the Universidad del País Vasco-Vitora, visited the University for two months in summer 2006. He was awarded a travel stipend by the University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) to return to Reno to continue his research on American football and socialization of youth. Dr. Etxebeste began his research when he was in Reno in 2003 with his wife Clara Urdangarain and their two sons.

Santi De Pablo

Santiago De Pablo, a professor in the Dept. of Contemporary History of the University of the Basque Country-Vitoria, visited Reno for two months in summer 2006 on a subsidy awarded by the University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC). He  conducted research in the Basque Library for a book on the lives and public images of the lehendakaris, or Basque presidents, from Jose Antonio Aguirre to the current lehendakari, Juan José Ibarretxe. On August 29, Dr. De Pablo presented a lecture on “The Basque Government-in-Exile during the Early Franco Years.”

Artitzar Erauskin& Iban Asenjo

Artitzar Erauskin of the Applied Economics Department, University of the Basque Country, Donostia-San Sebastián  researched at UNR on a USAC stipend for a month in summer 2006. She investigated ecological economics and energy, relating to methods of transport. She was accompanied by Iban Asenjo Gar de of Education Department, University of the Basque Country, who gave a presentation at UNR on “Bilingüismo y Educación en el Estado Español: El caso vasco” on August 11.

Angela Bourne visited the Center for two weeks in April 2006 from the Dept. of Politics, University of Dundee, Scotland. She was awarded a Begoña Aretxaga Travel Stipend to come to Reno to research her book on The European Union and the Accommodation of Basque Difference in Spain, for the University of Manchester Press.

Visiting scholar Andoni Alonso, Assoc. Professor from the University of Extremadura (History Department) was at the Center for the spring 2006 semester. Dr. Alonso’s research focuses on the philosophy of technology, and he is co-author with Iñaki Arzoz of Basque Cyberculture: From Digital Euskadi to CyberEuskalherria (Reno: Center for Basque Studies, 2001). In addition to conducting research while at UNR, he also taught a class on cyberculture and offered  independent study courses to our graduate students.

Pauliina Raento, a graduate of the Center for Basque Studies’ Ph.D. program, visited the Center and Basque Library December 5–12, 2005 to research quotidian identity politics in preparation for geographical fieldwork in the Basque Country. She then traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada for a week of fieldwork on American casino gaming (part of her studies on Leisure and Recreation). Dr. Raento is a senior research fellow of the Academy of Finland (equivalent to the National Science Foundation in the U.S.) and currently based in the Geography Department of the University of Helsinki.

[photo: UHelsinki web site]

Graduate student Ainslie Ingles of the University of Melbourne visited the Center for three weeks in fall 2005, conducting research for a comparative study of Basque and Catalan nationalism. She is a research assistant for Peter McPhee, professor of history at Melbourne as well as Deputy Vice Chancellor.

The Center for Basque Studies welcomes its first William A. Douglass Visiting Distinguished Scholar, Gregorio Monreal, to our campus. Dr. Monreal will be at UNR for the 2005–2006 academic year, researching and writing a book on the historical progression and development of Basque Country politics. He is a former President of the Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea.

The Douglass Distinguished Scholar Award was established in conjunction with the ministries of Education, Culture and Foreign Affairs of the Basque Government. An awardee is selected annually on the basis of his/her contribution to Basque Studies and consistent record of research achievement and scholarly innovation.

USAC-sponsored academic guest Nicanor Ursua was with us for the summer of 2005, conducting research regarding creating and maintaining virtual ethnic identity and virtual communities. Dr. Ursua is Chair of the Philosophy Department of the Universidad del País Vasco. On September 9, he gave a presentation on his research entitled “Cultural Diversity and New Media: Identity-play Online: Questions of Tele-Identity.”

Zuriñe Velez de Mendizabal from Arrasate (Basque Country) will be with the Center for the 2005–2006 academic year. She has been selected to work on our CBS marketing and web projects. Her background in journalism will be invaluable for us.

Maria del Mar Larraza, a professor in the History Department of the University of Navarra (Pamplona), is a visiting researcher for the period June 21–August 11, 2005. She received a Begoña Aretxaga Travel Stipend from the Center to research her project on the Franco era. She is perusing letters in the archives of Ramón Goñi and Huarte de Jáuregui found in the Basque Studies Library.

Alvaro Baraibar, associate professor at the University of Navarra (Pamplona) in the History Department, was awarded a Begoña Aretxaga Travel Stipend by the Center to conduct research from late June to August 11, 2006. His project on “Navarra from a Distance” involves researching Basque identity as revealed in the publications of Basque centers in the U.S. during the period 1936–1982.

Miguel Angel Salgado Pérez is a visiting scholar subsidized by the Center for the month of July 2005. He is a doctoral student at the University of the Basque Country–Leioa in the Department of Contemporary History and is researching the Spanish Civil War in the Basque Country. His research at UNR will focus on the Huarte de Jáuregui archive.

Asier Barandiaran of the University of Navarra, Department of Philology, is a visiting Professor at UNR. His work centers on oral traditions and bertsolaritza (Basque oral poetry). He is researching these traditions as practiced in the province of Navarra, and also their maintenance by Basque immigrants to the United States.

For past visitors, please see our Visitors Archive.