Current Calls for Papers
Call for Papers
What are Basque Studies?
UCLA | December 3rd, 2025
We invite submissions for the inaugural conference "What are Basque Studies?", to be held at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on December 3rd, 2025.
This one-day conference seeks to critically examine the field of Basque Studies—its origins, evolution, and current directions. Born from the desire to preserve and promote Basque language and culture, Basque Studies has historically encompassed a range of disciplines from linguistics to anthropology and political science. Today, the field is being reshaped by new questions and transdisciplinary approaches that cross traditional academic boundaries.
We welcome proposals from scholars and students working within and beyond Basque Studies who wish to engage with questions such as:
How have Basque Studies evolved in different geopolitical contexts?
What role do Basque Literature, Basque History, Language, and Sociolinguistics play in shaping the discipline today?
What is the contribution of Basque Studies to Diaspora Studies?
In what ways can transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary methodologies—drawing from environmental studies, migration studies, artificial intelligence, gender studies, media studies, and more—help us understand or reimagine Basque Studies?
Cross-cultural dialogues: how do minor/small/underrepresented languages and cultures collaborate and face current challenges?
How do new global challenges (e.g. climate change, diasporic identity, digital media) influence Basque cultural and academic production?
What does it mean to teach and research Basque topics from institutions outside the Basque Country?
We encourage submissions from emerging and established scholars and students from all disciplines, and especially welcome critical, creative, or experimental approaches that challenge traditional definitions of the field.
Please submit abstracts of no more than 300 words along with a short bio (max 250 words) to nicsmith@ucla.edu by August 1st, 2025.
Notifications of acceptance will be sent by September 1st, 2025.
For questions or further information, contact Nic Smith at nicsmith@ucla.edu.