Welcome to the Etxepare Alan R. King Professor in Residence
Dr Mikel Gartziarena from the University of the Basque Country will be the 2024 Etxepare Alan R. King Professor in Residence at the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies.
The Fellowship, named after the eminent linguist, the late Dr Alan R. King, is an opportunity for a scholar from the Basque Country to come to Wales to research and to contribute to teaching and knowledge exchange in these fields of sociolinguistics and language policy and planning.
Mikel Gartziarena will spend six weeks at the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies in Aberystwyth, where he will develop research activities revolving around Basque sociolinguistics and language.
Professor Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones, Director of the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies said:
“This is the third consecutive year that we have received a scholar from the Basque Country for the Alan R. King Chair in Sociolinguistics, as part of the strategic partnership between the University and the Etxepare Basque Institute. Dr Mikel Gartziarena’s expertise is in bilingual and Basque medium education, and this is particularly timely for us in Wales as the Welsh Language and Education Bill progresses through the Senedd. Earlier this year, he was involved in an innovative project to introduce new elements to teacher training in the education models in the Basque Country, and will share the initial results with us in his hybrid lecture from the National Library and in the follow-up workshop. We look forward to welcoming him here and his scheduled programme during his residency in sociolinguistics, language policy and planning will strengthen the links between Wales and the Basque Country.”
Mikel Gartziarena said, “I am eager to learn more about the linguistic realities and challenges of Wales, and to share strategies and insights on Basque and Welsh in our parallel and interconnected paths toward normalization.”
Mikel Gartziarena has a broad-ranging programme as part of his period as Professor in Residence in Wales. His first event will be a lecture entitled, ‘Pre- and in-service teachers’ language attitudes towards Basque’. The lecture will be held live on Thursday, 24 October 2024, at 5.00 pm, in the Drwm, National Library of Wales, and online via Zoom.
This is a free event. Guests are requested to book in advance if they wish to attend the lecture on site at the National Library. Tea will be served at 4:30pm. Please send an RSVP to cawcs@wales.ac.uk.
To join online, please register here for the Zoom link:
The following day, Friday 25 October, a workshop on education in the Basque Country will be held at the National Library to discuss Mikel’s work further and to consider the challenges and good practice that exist in Wales. Please note that this is an in person only event. Advance registration is required:
A warm welcome to all.
Notes for Editors
Contact: Prof Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones, Director of CAWCS 07590 428404. elin.jones@uwtsd.ac.uk
1. The Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies (CAWCS) was established by the University of Wales in 1985 as a dedicated research centre conducting team-based projects on the languages, literatures, culture and history of Wales and the other Celtic countries. Its fields of research include Early Celtic Languages, Hagiography, Medieval Welsh Literature, Enlightenment and Romanticism in Wales and Europe, Welsh and British Name Studies, Welsh Lexicography, Literary Translation, Contemporary Sociolinguistics and Language Policy and Planning in Minoritized Languages. It is home the University of Wales Dictionary of the Welsh Language, which celebrated its centenary in 2021.
2. The Etxepare Basque Institute promotes collaboration in the areas of culture and academia with international partners (universities, cultural entities, festivals, art centres, etc.) to enhance the international presence and visibility of the Basque language and contemporary Basque creativity and to promote international cooperation and exchange.
3. The partnership between the ϳԹ and the Etxepare Basque Institute was agreed in 2022 in order to establish the Alan R. King Chair in Sociolinguistics, named after the eminent linguist. It is an annual programme with the aim of setting a firm foundation for the relationship between Wales and the Basque Country in this priority field for both countries. The Alan R King Chair is one of ten themed Chairs supported by the Etxepare Basque Institute at universities across the world and the only one that focusses on language policy and planning.
4. CAWCS offers unique opportunities for postgraduate students to work alongside specialists in a dynamic and supportive environment. It is located in Aberystwyth, adjacent to the National Library of Wales, which is an internationally-renowned copyright library with excellent research facilities. We welcome enquiries about MPhil/PhD topics in any of our research areas. For more information about research opportunities, or for an informal chat about possible topics, contact our Head of Graduate Studies, Dr Elizabeth Edwards: e.edwards@wales.ac.uk
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