Minutes: "The Girls are coming. Gender, Youth and New Basque Literature"

Dr. Katixa Agirre from the University of the Basque Country visited the University of Birmingham the 23rd of November to take part in a Hispanic Research Seminar. Her lecture entitled "The Girls Are Coming. Gender, Youth and the New Basque Literature" was an enriching session about the current situation of Basque literature.

Dr Katixa Agirre launching her book Sua falta zaigu

The seminar explored one of the most relevant phenomena in contemporary Basque literature: the advent, over the last decade, of a significant number of female authors to a male-dominated literary environment. For that purpose, Dr. Agirre prepared the following presentation:

Dr Agirre at the University of Birmingham.

1) Katixa Agirre started her talk accounting for the "late but fast" literary development that has taken place in the Basque Country over the last decades. According to Agirre's view, the lack of political unity or the existence of multiple dialects could be some of the reasons, among others, for the late emergence of Basque literature.

2) Dr Agirre summarised the history of Basque literature, pointing out the fact that Basque literary production did not become significant until the end of 19th century (only 101 books were published in almost 200 years, and only 4 of those works could be considered strictly "literary").

The girls are coming! Gender, youth and the new Basque literature
This is the powerpoint presentation used by Dr Katixa Agirre.

3) Katixa Agirre focused on the presence of female authors in Basque literature, offering a list of the most representative women who have written literary works in Basque, especially since 1947.

4) Finally, she explained the main characteristics of the new wave of young female authors that have joined the Basque literary production since the beginning of this century.

If you were interested in the subject but were not able to attend the seminar, the video at the end of this post will  allow you to get a general idea of Dr Katixa Agirre's work.   




Dr. Katixa Agirre published her first book in 2007, Sua Falta Zaigu (Elkar), and the same year she published her first children's book Paularen Seigarren Atzamarra (Elkar). In 2007 she was awarded the Igartza grant to write the book Habitat, which was published in 2009.

Research Seminar: "The Girls are coming. Gender, Youth and New Basque Literature"

A research seminar on Basque Literature will take place the 23rd November in the Strathcona building, Lecture Theatre 6, at 3.00pm. Dr. Katixa Agirre will give a lecture entitled "The Girls Are Coming. Gender, Youth and the New Basque Literature".

In 2010, 2,499 books were published in the Basque Autonomous Comunity -a part of the Basque Country. This region formed by Biscay, Araba and Gipuzkoa has 2,124,846 inhabitants. Nearly 50% of that population is able to understand Basque, but not all of them are current Basque culture consumers. Lets say that, including the rest of Basque speakers who do not live in the Basque Autonomous Community, the social group that habitually consumes Basque literature will not be, unfortunately, more than 800,000 readers.

870 books (out of the 2,499) were published in Basque. This means that a book was written for every 919 readers. This percentage is a clear evidence of the importance that nowadays Basque literature has for the Basque culture. And a significant part of those books were written by a new wave of female authors.



Dr. Katixa Agirre is a well-known Basque writer that could be considered as part of that new wave. She will visit the University of Birmingham the 23rd of November to take part in the next Hispanic Research Seminar to give a lecture entitled "The Girls Are Coming. Gender, Youth and the New Basque Literature".

"This seminar will explore one of the most relevant phenomena in contemporary Basque literature: the advent, over the last decade, of a significant number of female authors to a male-dominated literary environment. Young female writers’ bittersweet encounter with readers, critics, and the media will be discussed."


Dr. Katixa Agirre published her first book in 2007, Sua Falta Zaigu (Elkar), and the same year she published her first children's book Paularen Seigarren Atzamarra (Elkar). In 2007 she was awarded the Igartza grant to write the book Habitat, which was published in 2009.

The seminar will take place in the Strathcona building, Lecture Theatre 6, at 3.00pm. Refreshments will be available after the seminar.

Third chapter: "On the trail"

What? Haven´t you already enjoyed our wonderful photo-novel in Basque, Catalan, Galician and Portuguese? Have a look then; it is getting more and more interesting!

These are the links to The mysterious case of the Ashley building, the third chapter: On the trail!  in Basque, Catalan, Galician and Portuguese. Enjoy it!

COMPETITION: Guess who in Catalan

Our first year students participate in the 1st Catalan Guess Who competition where they will have to guess which of their classmates were those cute little babies.

Workshop for UK based Catalan Tutors. Birmingham 2011















WORKSHOP FOR UK BASED CATALAN TUTORS.



En la línia iniciada l’any passat amb la Universitat de Manchester de col·laboració amb universitats de l’exterior, la Universitat de Birmingham i l’Institut Ramon Llull organitzen enguany el segon taller de formació adreçat al professorat de català de les universitats del Regne Unit i Irlanda, que és previst que se celebri el dia 18 de novembre a la mateixa Universitat de Birmingham.


Cliqueu aquí si voleu més informació: Catalan workshop programme and information















Second chapter of the photo-novel

The second chapter of "The mysterious case of the Ashley building" is now available in our website. Click here for Basque, Catalan, Galician or Portuguese. Enjoy it!

"Who said Basque difference?": Seminar minutes.

The 16th of March 2011, Imanol Galfarsoro, well-known collaborator of Lapiko Kritikoa ("basque critical stew") and member of the Department of Sociology and Social Policy of the University of Leeds, gave a lecture in one of the Research Seminars organised by the Hispanic Studies Department of the University of Birmingham.

The title of the seminar was the following: "Cultural Theory and Identity Politics: Who said Basque difference?"
 
"Could the Spanish democrat alluded to earlier think of Basqueness as being at the centre of a multiculturalist strategy of its own which would indeed contemplate an open-minded spirit of respect and tolerance of the other as well, of course, as the ensuing celebration of diversity and minority cultures, hybridization, multicultural education etc? In other words, could this same Spanish democrat contemplate Basqueness deploying the very logic of the unmarked, of the empty signifier or the absent centre able to occupy a privileged universalist position and able hence to respect, say, the particular mores and customs of the Spanish ethnic minority in the Basque country?"  



Imanol Galfarsoro's talk revolved around many concepts related to identity and culture: he first talked about national identity and multiculturalism within the context of Basque, Spanish, European, First World and also, tangentially, global politics. He placed emphasis on the imperative of rigour and reason in order to tackle polemical questions which are always short-circuited with high amounts of emotional investment and bias. As he stated, such is obviously the case when discussing the nation, which was presented as carrying its own pre-modern phantasmatic presence into modernity. Then opposition often established between Basque ‘ethnic nationalism’ vs. Spanish “civic, constitutional patriotism was also de-constructed while it was established that the ethics of alterity and the politics of multiculturalism rest on more problematic grounds that often accounted for in overly celebratory approaches to the question of difference. In this context, moreover, he talked about some basis to account for promoting forms of indifference to Basque cultural difference in order to place more emphasis on the notions of political equality and social justice. 
 
This is the final paper submitted by Imanol Galfarsoro after the seminar:



A photonovel in Basque, Catalan, Galician and Portuguese

Basque, Catalan and Galician Studies, this time joined by Portuguese Studies collaborated on a original project during two academic years: a photonovel in Basque, Catalan, Galician and Portuguese.

“But wait… something is wrong in that corner…”

A photonovel, for those who are not familiar with the term, is a type of comic book, using film stills instead of artwork along with the narrative text and word balloons containing dialogue. Xabier Paya (Basque Studies), Raquel Navas (Catalan Studies), Antia P. Carreiro (Galician Studies) and Fátima Candé (Portuguese Studies) prepared five episodes about a mystery that takes place in the Ashley building.

“The mysterious case of the Ashley building” was published in Basque, Catalan, Galician and Portuguese. For those students who are not still ;-) learning one of the aforementioned languages, an English version was also published.

The third chapter is available here in Basque, Catalan, GalicianPortuguese and English!     

Welcome 2011-12!

Galician, Basque and Catalan studies extend a warm welcome to all our new first year students! We wish you an enjoyable and successful time with us. We hope that you will find this blog a good way of keeping up with all the latest news from our languages. Remember that you can follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.




Throughout the year we will be organising parties, seminars, special lectures and many other surprises. Check our blog regularly!

New technologies in language teaching and learning

The Catalan Language Tutor Raquel Navas and the Basque Language and Culture Instructor Xabier Paya took part in the 1st LCAHM Sharing Best Practice in Teaching and Learning Symposium held in May. Raquel and Xabier talked about the usage of new technologies in language teaching and learning.

Xabier's presentation dealt with BOGA, a a Basque language program (based on Moodle) to help students learn the language through the internet on their own. BOGA is one of the tools created by the Basque Government for the learning of Euskara.

Raquel prepared an interactive explanation of a new software called Turning Point which is based on a voting system that makes engaging your group "a piece of cake". Students get some clickers that they use to ask multiple-choice questions. The instant results show everyone how the group thinks. 

If you want to know more about their presentations, you can read them here!  


 
Click here to download it!

More than a Hundred Spectators Enjoyed the First Catalan, Basque and Galician Cinema Season of Birmingham

The Catalan film “Elisa K”, the Basque “80 egunean” and the Galician “Crebinsky” were introduced by their respective directors and projected in the Midlands Arts Centre during May.

Birmingham, UK June 14, 2011 -- The renowned Midlands Arts Centre hosted more than 100 people that attended the first Catalan, Basque and Galician Cinema Season organized by the University of Birmingham. Three award-winning films were introduced by their directors. After the showings, debates took place in which the spectators had the opportunity to ask the directors about their works.



The season started with the showing of the acclaimed Catalan film Elisa K, co-directed by Judith Colell and Jordi Cadena. The film deals with the traumatic consequences of childhood sexual abuse, which are examined in the film. This Catalan-language production, itself adapted from Lolita Bosch’s book Elisa Kiseljak, relates how a 10-year-old schoolgirl, Elisa, was raped by a friend of her father's, and how she buries the fatal incident within her subconscious. The film director Jordi Cadena enjoyed the question and answer session that revolved around the relationship between plot and cinematic devices.

Basque cinema was represented by 80 egunean (For 80 days), a critically acclaimed film directed by Jose Mari Goenaga and Jon Garaño. 80 egunean is a sincere and humorous Basque-language drama charting the flourishing relationship between two women in their seventies who meet again by accident after fifty years. The director Jon Garaño was happy to talk about this charming story that deals with such topics as lesbianism between elderly people.

Finally, the Galician film Crebinsky was a fine ending for the cinema season. The Crebinsky brothers and their cow grew up at the foot of a lighthouse. They survive collecting things that the sea brings: the “crebas”, completely isolated from the military events that took place in Europe during the 1940s. Crebinsky’s peculiar universe full of imaginative realism gave rise to many questions that the director Enrique Otero answered in detail after the showing.

The three films were shown in their original version with English subtitles. All screenings were free of charge thanks to the generous support of the Etxepare Basque Institute, Institut Ramon Llull, Xunta de Galicia and the University of Birmingham.



About the Catalan, Basque and Galician studies in the University of Birmingham:
The University of Birmingham is the sole academic institution in the United Kingdom that offers Basque, Catalan and Galician studies to its students as an integral part of their degree. Thanks to successful agreements with the Institut Ramon Llull, the Etxepare Basque Institute and the Xunta de Galicia, a considerable number of students enjoy language and culture modules in Basque, Catalan and Galician.

One more opportunity: Spend your summer in Catalunya!!





You could get a collaboration grant within the Catalan Summer University of Prada de Conflent!


The UCE (Universitat Catalana d’Estiu) has courses for all levels and is coordinated by the Secretary of Linguistics Policy of the Generalitat de Catalunya. You would be able to assist to Catalan language courses, History , Journalism, Astronomy, Cinema, Architecture, Economics, Environment, Catalan Literature, Sociolinguistics, Anthropology, Music History, Art History, etc.


There is also the possibility of participating in some workshops about cuisine, hiking, popular dances, speleology, ceramics, ornithology, popular songs, experimental sciences and night shows and cinema.


This grant will allow you to have free accommodation and registering fees in exchange for part-time work helping with the events’ organization.
Those courses will run from 16th to 24th August in Liceu Renovier of Prada de Conflent (North Catalonia) that is situated near Perpinyà and Puigcerdà.


They are offering us two places for our students, and we will give them in a first come, first served basis. So, please let us know as soon as possible if you are interested.


Don’t miss this opportunity!!




If you need more information,contact Raquel Navas: r.navas@bham.ac.uk.

Os Crebinsky: the short film

Our successful Catalan, Basque and Galician cinema season is over! However, those who attended the Galician film Crebinsky will remember that Enrique Otero's so-awarded film was based on a short called Os Crebinsky.

This short film by Enrique Otero was inspired by the imagery of the "crebas" and by a famous story about a milk shipment that reached Arou in the seventies. Do you want to watch it? Just click on it, and do not forget to let your comments afterwards! They will be more than welcome!  



26th MAY 2011: CREBINSKY

The Galician film Crebinsky will bring the Catalan, Basque and Galician Cinema to an end on Thursday 26th May. It will take place at the Midlands Arts Centre (mac) from 2pm to 4.30.

The Galician director Enrique Otero will attend the event and he will take part in the discussion about the film.
The event is free and all are welcome.



Original title: Crebinsky
Length: 90 min
Year: 2010
Gender: Comedy
Actors: Miguel de Lira, Sergio Zearreta, Luis Tosar, Celso Bugallo.

Synosis
Torrential rain causes the river to swell, flooding a village.The Crebinsky brothers and their cow miraculously save their lives when they are swept away by the current and they end up somewhere along the coast.
That is where they grow up, at the foot of a lighthouse. They survive collecting things that the sea brings: the “crebas” . Completely isolated from the military events that are taking place around them, they create their own world. A peculiar universe full of imaginative realism.
The normal rhythm of their lives with Muchka, their cow, is shattered when she disappears.The brothers then start a desperate search that will take them from the coast to the interior that will take the spectator on a journey through the stunning Galician landscape. It is a real road movie, an inner journey full of unexpected encounter, dark feelings and erased memories. Not knowing where they are going to, they end up discovering where they come from.




The film is having very good reviews both from critics and audience. It has been presented in several festivals such as the Pusan International Film Festival and it has been recently awarded at the Festival de Málaga.

Some reviews:




You can find further information about the film at: 






19th May: 80 egunean

The Catalan, Basque and Galician Cinema Season continues with the Basque film 80 egunean. The film will beprojected the 19th May, 2:00pm, at the Midlands Arts Center. Here is all the information about the film: 

Original title: 80 egunean (In 80 days)
Length: 105 min
Year: 2009
Genre: Drama
Directors: Jon Garaño, Jose Mari Goenaga 
Actors: Itziar Aizpuru, Mariasun Pagoaga, José Ramón Argoitia, Ane Gabarain

Axun, a 70 year old woman, is called from the hospital to take care of her daughter's ex-husband, who was seriously injured in a car accident. To her surprise, the woman who takes care of the other patient in the same hospital room turns out to be Maite, her best friend when teenagers. They have not seen each other for more than 50 years. The hospital visits will show that the close relationship they had when teenagers is still alive. Their relationship was very special fifty years ago but nowadays the same feelings flourish. They have fun and enjoy each other's company until Axun finds out that Maite is openly lesbian. Axun questions her own feelings about Maite. Was their relationship when teenagers more than friendship? Where is the thin line that separates friendship from desire? Now that she is 70, does she dare crossing this thin line?

The film has been presented in 11 International Film Festival (for instance, The London Film Festival, Montreal World Film Festival, Mumbai International Film Festival...). The film is suitable for all audiences.



As part of the 17th edition of the VIVA! Festival, director Jon Garaño attended the screening of 80 egunean at the Cornerhouse cinema in Manchester. Here you have a video about the discussion he had with the audience right after the projection.



Do you want to watch the whole film in Basque? Click here (no English subtitles).

CATALAN, BASQUE AND GALICIAN CINEMA SEASON

We are pleased to invite you to an exciting cinema season at the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) that will take place the 12th, 19th, 26th May 2011.

The University of Birmingham, in collaboration with Etxepare Basque Institute, Ramon Llull and Xunta de Galicia has organised the first screening of Catalan, Basque and Galician films in the city of Birmingham.


12th May 2011
14.00 – 16.30
Screening of the Catalan film Elisa K.
The director JORDI CADENA will take part in a discussion about the film after the projection.                                                                                               

19th May 2011 
14.00 – 16.30
Screening of the Basque film 80 egunean (in 80 days).
The director JON GARAÑO will take part in a discussion about the film after the projection.

26th May 2011
14.00 – 16.30
Screening of the Galician film Crebinsky.  
The director ENRIQUE OTERO will take part in a discussion about the film after the projection.
 
The three films will be projected in original version with English subtitles. All screenings will be free of charge thanks to the generous support of the Etxepare Basque Institute, Institut Ramon Llull, Xunta de Galicia and the University of Birmingham.

The address of the Midlands Arts Centre of Birmingham is Cannon Hill Park, 2 Russell Road, Birmingham B12 9QH.


View Larger Map

Expatriate Galician nationalism: exile and reconstruction

Tuesday 29th March 2011



‘Expatriate Galician nationalism: exile and reconstruction’.
Uxío-Breogán Diéguez Cequiel, University of Vigo, Galiza.



The Centre for Galician Studies of the University of Birmingham has organized a lecture for next Tuesday 29th March 2011.
The lecture is included in the Research Seminars of the Hispanic Department and is supported by The Centre for the Study of Hispanic Exile.

Our guest lecturer at the Centre for Galician Studies is the historian Uxío-Breogán Diéguez Cequiel from the University of Vigo, Galiza, and he will be giving a lecture about Galician exile and the construction of nationalism entitled ‘Expatriate Galician nationalism: exile and reconstruction’.

Uxío-Breogán Diéguez Cequiel is the President of the Association of Galician Historians and the director of the Centre for Studies and Research Alexandre Bóveda in the University of Vigo. This Centre focuses on the figure of Alexandre Bóveda, a Galician politician and economist and a key figure of the Partido Galeguista (Galician Party) who was executed by the fascists in August 1936.

Uxío-Breogán Diéguez is also the director of Murguia, Revista Galega de Historiaa Galician History Journal which is available in the library of the Centre for Galician Studies of Birmingham.

The seminar will take place in Law School (room 111) at 4pm. Refreshments will be oferred after the seminar.





Professor R. L. Trask Lecture

Professor Robert Lawrence Trask (1944-2004)
 
“Waking the Hedgehog, Waking the Nation: By Way of Introduction to Basque Literature”

Prof. Mari Jose Olaziregi 
University of the Basque Country Etxepare Basque Institute

“Hedgehogs, Seagulls, Roses, Elephants and the Moon: hand in hand with some contemporary Basque poems”

Amaia Gabantxo
University of East Anglia

The University of Birmingham, in collaboration with the Etxepare Basque Institute, is organising the first "Professor Robert Lawrence Trask Lecture". The lecture on behalf of Professor Lawrence Trask, full-member of the Basque Language Academy and well-known scholar who made a sterling work in Basque linguistics, will take the 30th March 2011. The guest lecturers will be Professor Maria Jose Olaziregi from the University of The Basque Country and Amaia Gabantxo from the University of East Anglia.


The lecturers will present an introduction to Basque Literature:“This presentation attempts to give an overview of the history of Basque literature and make a diagnosis of our current literary scene. To that end, we have borrowed a few lines by the author Bernardo Atxaga in which he makes a comparison between our literature and a hedgehog that has been lethargic for too long, but has fortunately managed to wake up in the twentieth century. The second talk is a reading that is a journey through the best poetic voices in contemporary Basque literature” 


The lecture will take place in the Arts Building of the University of Birmingham, Lecture Room 8, at 4.30pm. This is the leaflet prepared for the lecture:

                           

Highly recommended for those interested in languages and literature!

CATALAN SUMMER COURSES IN GIRONA

Some information about Summer Catalan Courses in the Escola Oficial d’Idiomes de Girona! The Institut Ramon Llull is offering some grants to “Any non-Catalan-speaking person who has completed a minimum of 60 hours of courses in the Catalan language in study centres located outside the Catalan-speaking zone and who has a basic knowledge and mastery of spoken Catalan”. Those grants cover accommodation and travel expenses.


I’m sure it would be an amazing experience, go for it!


If you need more information, contact Raquel Navas in r.navas@bham.ac.uk







ÀNGELS AYMAR I MONTSERRAT ROSER- EL DOCTOR TRUETA

Thursday 25th of November 2010, University of Birmingham.


A fascinating talk on the play Trueta was given by its director and writer ÀNGELS AYMAR i RAGOLTA and its translator DR MONTSERRAT ROSER i PUIG. The play is inspired by the life of the distinguished Catalan surgeon Doctor Josep Trueta, whose Nobel Prize nomination was supported by the University of Birmingham.





"Who said Basque difference?"

The 16th of March, Imanol Galfarsoro, well-known collaborator of Lapiko Kritikoa ("basque critical stew") and member of the Department of Sociology and Social Policy of the University of Leeds, will give a lecture in one of the Research Seminars organised by the Hispanic Studies Department of the University of Birmingham.

The title of the seminar is the following: "Cultural Theory and Identity Politics: Who said Basque difference?"

"The contents of this paper are located along the flow of a transitional intellectual movement that is, slowly but surely, shifting emphasis from identity and cultural politics to political culture, including a newly re-invigorated critique of political economy. Along repeated appeals to the virtues of politics and political analysis proper, the form that this paper takes, on the other hand, relies on the interventionist Imaginary of my own political subjectivity. Hence, it is from within the concrete perspective of this imaginary dimension that I seek to argue for the possibility of an absolute political indifference to Basque cultural difference."

The seminar will take place in the Strathcona building, Lecture Room 7, at 4.00pm. Refreshments will be available after the seminar. 

For those who would like to know more about the seminar, Imanol Galfarsoro has prepared the attached document. Enjoy it!


Hope to see you there!

International Mother Language Day

Today, the 21st of January, it is the International Mother Language Day, proclaimed by UNESCO.



There are close to 7,000 languages in the world, and half of them have fewer than 7,000 speakers each, less than a village. What is more, 80% of the world’s languages have fewer than 100,000 speakers, the size of a small town (Nicholas Ostler).

If languages do not exist, cultures disappear.

Welcome!




Benvidos, ongi etorri, benvinguts!


The Galician, Basque and Catalan Studies of the University of Birmingham have created this blog to inform about all their activities. From now on, this blog will let you know what is going on with Galician, Basque and Catalan in Birmingham!