Thursday, 4 December, 6.00 pm
Tarantola Bookshop, Udine
LANGUAGES: Basque, Spanish, Friulian
SYNOPSIS: The book “Barbaroak eta zibilizatuak” (On Barbarism: Towards an Uncivilised Critique of Modernity) explores four processes of ‘barbarisation’, tracing how the image of the Basque people as ‘savages’ has been constructed through the centuries. The essay sheds light on how the marginalisation of the Basque language and the oppression of the Basque people have played a key role in this narrative, while also highlighting how language has become a site of resistance and emancipation. Starting from the Basque experience, the work offers interpretative frameworks that can be applied to other minoritised languages and subjugated peoples around the world.
GUEST: Ibai Atutxa Ordeñana (Galdakao, 1984). He holds degrees in Comparative Literature, Contemporary Philosophy and Basque Philology. After studying in Bilbao, Barcelona, Valencia and New York, he began teaching at the University of the Basque Country. He is also a regular columnist for the magazine Argia. Author of numerous essays, his research focuses on nationalism, minority languages, philosophy, queer theory and postcolonial studies.
INTRODUCED AND MODERATED BY: Carli Pup
IN COLLABORATION WITH: Tarantola bookshop, Udine.
FIRST PRESENTATION IN THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC