Subject — Not Only Object — of Study

Abstract

To establish a discipline implies a responsibility. Whose is it? As vascólogos (or experts in Basque studies) and vascófilos (or scholars of the Basque language), our first thought should be addressed to discern the Basque studies as an object of study or as a subject of study. This distinction is fundamental. The historical review of the condition of object and/or subject in these studies reveals a crucial feature that defines both us and the Basque studies: our renunciation of their status of subject. This paper suggests a double task to address this deficiency: instituting, not renouncing, Basque studies as a subject of study; defining, not stereotyping, Basque studies as an object of study.