Since 1974, the Institute of Basque Studies has been dedicated to the study and dissemination of the Basque language and culture. As a result of a sustained effort over these almost fifty years, the Institute has gathered an important bibliographic collection on Basque subjects (which can be consulted in the UD Library), has published a notable catalogue of publications and has managed to bring together and coordinate an important team of professionals to carry out relevant work in the research field. It also organises a wide range of activities such as conferences, seminars, lectures, round tables, exhibitions, etc.
About the Institute
CONTACTO
instituto de estudios vascos
Avda. de las Universidades, 24
48007 Bilbao
Contacto:
944 139 387euskal.gaiak@deusto.es
Nos gustaría que el instituto fuera un punto de encuentro de investigadores y personas interesadas en trabajar y profundizar en la cultura vasca
Elixabete Perez GazteluDirectora del Instituto de Estudios Vascos
HISTORY
In 1974, the University of Deusto jointly with the Biscay Provincial Council created the Department of Biscayan Studies, with its headquarters at the University of Deusto. The Department, governed by a Board of Trustees with equal representation from the University and the Provincial Council, had three chairs (History, Law and Basque Linguistics) and a specialised Library, and carried out all kinds of teaching, research and dissemination activities related to our culture.
Five years later, after the restoration of democracy, the Department of Biscayan Studies became - on 21 November 1979 - the current Institute of Basque Studies,affiliated with the University's Faculty of Philosophy and Arts. The new Institute depended exclusively on the UD, but maintained the institutional support of the Biscay Provincial Council.
In 2009, the University of Deusto started the restructuring of its faculties, schools and institutes and the Institute of Basque Studies became a part of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences.
In its almost 50 years of history, the Institute has been run by leading figures of the Basque culture: Ramón Areitio Rodrigo (provisionally until December 1974), Andrés Eliseo de Mañaricúa y Nuere (1974-1979), Patxi Altuna Bengoechea (1979-1991, with José Ramón Scheifler Amézaga as deputy director), Rosa Miren Pagola Petrirena (1991-1999), Santiago Larrazabal Basañez (1999-2009) and Nerea Mujika Ulazia (2009-2016). Since 2017, the Institute’s Director has been Elixabete Perez Gaztelu.
RESEARCH
RESEARCH
The activities and publications of the members of the Institute of Basque Studies contribute to the Communication, discourses and identities research area from a variety of perspectives. One of them seeks to understand how the interplay between communication processes and the (re)creation of identity (or identities) manifests itself in different contexts, and particularly in times of crisis and structural change. It deals with the study of linguistic practices (structure, variation and interaction) and of the speakers, as well as the social aspect of language and the role it plays in the construction of Basque identity(ies).
Some of the researchers participate in the coordinated competitive project Equiling (which includes sub-projects in Madrid, Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country), where they study the practices that new Basque speakers resort to as a way of being, becoming and defining themselves as Basque speakers and the type of status and self-representation entailed by these practices. To do this, they use a novel methodology, participatory action research (PAR).
The Institute's activities
Team
José Ángel Achón Insausti
- Investigador en el Instituto de Estudios Vascos
Estibaliz Amorrortu Gómez
- Investigadora en el Instituto de Estudios Vascos
Laura Belmonte Romillo
- Secretaria
Alexander Iribar Ibabe
- Investigador en el Instituto de Estudios Vascos
Xabier Landabidea Urresti
- Investigador en el Instituto de Estudios Vascos
Elixabete Perez Gaztelu
- Euskal Gaien Institutuko zuzendaria
Blog
Euskal Gaiak
40th anniversary
40th anniversary
In this video, researchers and lecturers share their reflections on the past, present and future of the Institute of Basque Studies and Basque studies as a whole. They respond to questions that appeal to their early experiences, providing an assessment of those activities, discussing the present of Basque studies at the University of Deusto, and considering the future of these studies in a global world.
