Territories: A Trans-Cultural Journal of Regional Studies

This article traces the historical evolution of two disciplinary trends in the field of Basque studies in a global context. While the scholars who promoted the multidisciplinary approach espoused an ethno-historicist vision, committed to the study of Basque language and culture, they nevertheless failed to provide the field with internal coherence and defended its putative homeland roots. The Sociedad de Estudios Vascos adopted since the 1990s a more interdisciplinary vision, imposing on the field a purpose of practical application for Basque society, but paying little attention to the Basque diaspora. This article proposes a transdisciplinary approach—and “trans” perspectives in general—cultivated by social scientists in area studies, ethnic studies, and other fields that, without compromising the concerns of either trend, can help build a shared and internally coherent conceptual framework that transcends the specific perspectives of the constitutive disciplines of Basque studies.