The Etxepare Basque Institute to create a new chair in Basque Studies in Montreal

The Etxepare Basque Institute, Agirre Lehendakaria Center (ALC) and McGill University have signed a cooperation agreement setting the groundwork for the upcoming creation of a chair in Basque studies at this prestigious university in Montreal. The agreement was signed during a visit to Quebec by the Basque Minister for Culture, Bingen Zupiria, and the director of Etxepare, Irene Larraza, in an effort to strengthen cultural ties between the two regions.

The Etxepare Basque Institute, Agirre Lehendakaria Center (ALC) and McGill University have signed a cooperation agreement setting the groundwork for the upcoming creation of a chair in Basque studies at this prestigious university in Montreal. The agreement was signed during a visit to Quebec by the Basque Minister for Culture, Bingen Zupiria, and the director of Etxepare, Irene Larraza, in an effort to strengthen cultural ties between the two regions.

The future chair will be set up at CRIEM (Centre de recherches interdisciplinaires en études montréalaises), whose areas of research include culture, multilingualism, and interculturalism, among others; the Basque studies chair will focus on culture and social innovation. The chair will also promote research and academic exchange between McGill and the Basque Country to bolster research revolving around Basque culture at the university.

The new chair will address the comparative perspective between Quebec and the Basque Country and promote dialogue between the two cultures. Studies will be intended mainly for post-graduate students but will be open to undergraduates and the university community as a whole.

The Etxepare Basque Institute has created eight chairs to date in order to raise the profile of Basque studies in the academic arena. The new chair at McGill University will join Liverpool, Chicago, Bordeaux-Montaigne, Massachusetts Amherst, New York, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Nevada Reno and Boise State. McGill, the oldest university in Canada, ranks among Canada´s most prestigious universities, attracting international students from over 150 countries. This will global setting will give greater visibility to Basque culture in the academic community.