(Posted March 13, 2006)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Tom Millington, senior program officer for Brethren Colleges Abroad, will talk at Juniata College about "Basque Identity" in a lecture at 7:30 p.m., Monday, March 20 in Neff Lecture Hall in the von Liebig Center for Science on the Juniata campus.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Millington is an expert on Basque culture, which maintains an unassimilated culture within Spain. The Basques have long interested historians because of their longtime claims to independence from Spain. The Basque culture has experienced a resurgence within the past decade, which has led to some speculation in Spain whether the Basques have a legitimate claim to independence.

Millington is the author of a book, "The Crossroads of Basque Identity: The Dichotomy Between Basque Ethos and Basque Self." Millington shows how the Basque's self-image or "identity" works against the ethnic group's efforts to unify itself into a separate country.

Millington earned a bachelor's degree from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa. and a master's degree from Indiana State University. He has lived in Bolivia and Spain and taught Spanish at the Collegiate School in Richmond, Va.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.