The Basque government has pledged $50,000 per year for three
years to help establish an interdisciplinary Basque Studies
minor at Boise State University. The program is a
cooperative venture between Boise State and the Cenarrusa
Center for Basque Studies.
Sabine Klahr, director of International Programs at Boise
State, recently traveled to the Basque Country with
Cenarrusa Center Director John Bieter and former Secretary
of State Pete Cenarrusa to secure funding for the program.
Klahr and Bieter, along with Teresa Boucher (chair, Modern
Languages and Literatures at Boise State), Peter Buhler
(chair, Department of History at Boise State), and Patty
Miller (director, Basque Museum and Cultural Center, Boise)
are jointly working on the project and are also applying for
U.S. Department of Education funds to establish the minor at
Boise State.
The funding from the Basque government will significantly
advance the development of the minor, Klahr said. The goal
of the Basque Studies program is to raise awareness and
enhance knowledge of Basque language and culture, and serve
as an academic umbrella for research and other scholarly
activities on Basque language and culture in the U.S., the
Basque Country, and throughout the world.
A large number of Boise State students continue to study
abroad in the Basque Country, and the new minor will allow
students to apply course credits in Basque language and
culture to the minor. The Basque community in Boise and the
close connections the community has to the Basque Country
will serve as a foundation and primary resource for the
program. Once established locally, those involved in the
project hope to develop a consortium that would include
other regional educational institutions with the long-range
goal of an international Basque Studies consortium.
The financial support from the Basque government to Boise
State University will be administered through the Cenarrusa
Center for Basque Studies. Plans are for the minor program
to begin fall 2005.
Contacts:
Sabine Klahr, Boise State International Programs, (208)
426-3652
Teresa Boucher, Modern Languages and Literatures, 426-3796
John Bieter, Cenarrusa Center for Basque Studies, 484-7561
or 426-5332
Peter Buhler, History Department, 426-3538
Patty Miller, Basque Museum & Cultural Center, 343-2671
Media Contact: Sherry Squires, communications and marketing, (208)
426-1563,
ssquires@boisestate.edu
