Western US Basque-American e-Diaspora: Action Research in California, Idaho, and Nevada

Abstract

Basque settlement increased in the western states of the US decades ago, particularly in California, Idaho, and Nevada. Alongside this migration phenomenon, Basque Studies programs have been emerging at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), Boise State University (BSU), and California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB), particularly in the humanities, including history, anthropology, linguistics, and literature. The impact of the pandemic in Basque e-Diasporic communities in California, Idaho, and Nevada, and, consequently, the deep digitalization process being undertaken at the abovementioned universities, has resulted in an increasing demand for an articulated strategy in community engagement through action research. To respond to this timely challenge, the article suggests a need for a transition towards a Social Science transdisciplinary roadmap to support Basque e-diasporic communities. Basque Studies programs have the potential to act as a transformational policy driver through their virtual connections with the Basque Country and key homeland institutions. This article explores this necessary transition through action research by acknowledging the potential for the three abovementioned US states and the Basque Country to set up a transformational e-Diaspora.