Anthropological approaches to Roma in CEE

The tumultuous fate of European Roma and Gypsy groups during the 20th century has seen their culture and very existence as a people challenged. Despite being subjected to intense assimilation policies and persecution, they regularly re-emerge with remarkable revitalizing power. Who are then the Roma and Gypsies, what does it mean from their point of view? As a people without a state and the largest European minority, they are the epitome of cultural diversity across borders and time. In this course, we will learn about the historical social adaptations of Roma and Gypsy groups in Europe and the United States and then we will focus on Central European Roma. The course will draw on the latest research on topics such as Romani European migration, memory building, political mobilization, survival strategies, segregation, racism, and Romani women's activism or youth movement. The course newly adopts a field-trip component that will complement the lecture and seminar sessions. We will visit a contested memory site of Nazi persecution and participate in a commemoration ritual; we will travel to a Roma ghetto and study the contours of spatial segregation and its politics; we will attend a performance of the "theater of the oppressed" and discuss with Roma actors how theatric language helps them express their aspirations etc. This course will challenge mono-causal explanations of Romani society and culture and will stimulate students to think about Roma in a critical holistic way that brings into consideration the societies they live in. Building on a diverse selection of empirical material, ranging from ethnographic, historical, and sociological case studies to film and art, the course will present the Roma "as good to think with" about contemporary societies.