William Douglas Chair 2022: Begoña Echeverria

Begoña Echeverría, professor at the University of California, will offer a lecture in the context of the William A. Douglass Chair at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. It will be on September 19, at 4:30 p.m., and will take place in Herter Hall, with free entry.

This lecture is made possible by the Etxepare Institute and co-sponsored by the University of Massachusetts Amherst Modern European Studies Program and the Program in  Spanish and Portuguese.

In this talk, Echeverria discusses the historical facts about the persecution of Basque “witches” in the early 17th century and reads excerpts from her novel based on that history, ‘The Hammer of Witches’. She will also share excerpts from her 2021 work, “Witches” and Wily Women: Saving ‘Noka’ through Basque Folklore and Song.”

A native Basque speaker with a PhD in sociology, Dr. Echeverria is a Professor at UC Riverside’s Graduate School of Education. A multi-talented scholar, musician and film-maker, Dr. Echeverria has conducted ethnographic work and published widely on Basque language schooling as well as gender identity and language use in Basque song, biblical texts, and folk tales.  She is an expert in the unique pronoun system ‘noka’ used by women to address other women.

The William A. Douglass Chair was inaugurated in 2016 for the purpose of promoting Basque anthropology. Within the framework of the Chair, two seminars and lectures are held every year related to Basque anthropology and culture.