Nere Lete and Ziortza Gandarias Beldarrain, professors of Basque Studies in the World Languages Department, taught a course in the inaugural session of the master’s degree program created by the University of the Basque Country, “Specialization in Basque Diaspora.”
This degree is intended to be a training program with a clear international and inter-university orientation. The students are from the Basque Country and other Basque diaspora communities, such as Argentina, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Lete and Gandarias Beldarrain taught the class “Diáspora y género: el rol de la mujer” (Diaspora and Gender: The Role of Women) in November. The professors enlisted Patty Miller to provide her expertise as the Director of Community History Project at the Basque Museum and Cultural Center in Boise. They presented a multidisciplinary course, analyzing the formations of different diasporas in the American West and the role of women in these communities. The course focused on the active role and presence of Basque women in the diasporic communities, in particular, showcasing the contributions made in the social, cultural, political, historical and economic arenas of Boise.