“Stanford University’s invitation to Lehendakari Juan José Ibarretxe is one of several steps to engaging with Euskal Herria.”

Professor Joan Ramon Resina, Chair of the Spanish and Portuguese Department and Director of the Iberian Studies Program extended the invitation months ago as a part of the Forum on Contemporary Europe of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.  Resina described Ibarretxe’s leadership and his plan for peace as being daring, especially provocative and thus precisely Stanford’s interest in having his presentation and the honor of having his presence on campus. 

The Spanish and Portuguese Department also was the host department of the first course ever taught at Stanford University on Basque Studies, Introduction to Basque Studies, initiated by student Casey Nevitt (Arostegi of Boise on her mother’s side).  The course was given during the winter term of 2007, and was well attended by students, and also by professors and even Provost John Etchemendy himself every week.  In addition to a Basque studies course and a visit by the Lehendakari, Stanford is interested in various other avenues of collaborating with Basque Country institutions and research projects in the near future.

This particular event began with exploratory discussions more than one year ago, and it was hoped that the Lehendakari could visit Stanford and the San Francisco Basque Cultural Center for its 25th anniversary in February 2007.  Due to his numerous commitments he was unable to accept the invitations to visit the Bay Area.  In July 2007, Secretary of Foreign Action, Iñaki Aguirre, began anew to try to schedule the visit for February 2008 and this time it was successful.  After a few weeks of Internet protests led by a Navarrese Stanford graduate student and which eventually involved officials of the Foral Community of Navarre, President Ibarretxe’s speech was well-attended and well-received.  Protestors numbered five to ten individuals, nothing more.  For most at Stanford, the interest in the protest against Ibarrtexe’s being invited was not in the content or politics of the arguments (which were considered quite ridiculous for one of the world’s most prestigious universities), but the curiosity stemmed from the mobilization of individuals in Spain signing on-line petitions attempting to influence a United States university’s policies regarding academic freedom and invitations to elected political leaders.  Stanford officials, lawyers, professors and the Provost stated in different communications that of course the local has become global and vice versa, however, the university campus is exactly the place for the presentation of new politics and talks by democratically elected political officials, and virtual signatures from individuals across the planet would in no way influence any of their decisions in Palo Alto, California.

Professor Resina is directing the Iberian Studies Program as an “interdisciplinary initiative to promote relational knowledge of the various cultures of the Iberian Peninsula.”  He rejects the current emphasis on state cultures such as “Spanish” or “Portuguese” and believes that prior existing cultures and identities, such as the Basques, Catalan, Galician, need to be studied as the separate entities that they are.    Stanford’s Iberian Studies Program highlights the penninsula’s geographical, historical and cultural axes, as well as its role in European Union affairs and students are encouraged to take multidisciplinary approaches to their coursework and research.  It is expected that Iberian Studies will include additional opportunities for the Stanford community to engage with issues regarding the Basque homeland, its history, culture, traditions, literature, film and politics.