In October 2013, more than 100 scholars gathered at an international conference in Uppsala to discuss ways to identify and analyse a theme which in recent years has attracted growing attention: the discrimination, marginalisation and persecution of Romanies. The approaches adopted in this volume range from critical theory, semiotics, discourse and cultural analysis to intersectional perspectives. Many contributors here argue for a conceptual understanding of this phenomenon that goes beyond the notions of anti-Romani racism or Romaphobia, suggesting a shift in focus towards the prevailing prejudice in majority societies. The controversial core theme discussed in this book is the appropriateness and the theoretical understanding of the term "antiziganism" and its analogue "antigypsyism." The essays explore empirical findings from the news media, film, literature and theatre, as well as contemporary and historical realities in Germany, Kosovo, Norway, the former Ottoman Empire, the Soviet Union, Romania, Sweden, and the US. The striking historical and geographic continuity of stereotypes and the different modes of antiziganist practice comprise a central theme here, along with a focus on the counter-discourse of Romanies. Since comprehensive literature on this topic in Romani studies has, to date, been rare, this volume provides necessary readings for the debate among scholars, policy-makers and activists.
About the Author: Jan Selling is Associate Professor of History at Lund University. He has coordinated the research network "History of Roma and Resande in the Nordic Countries" (RORHIN) since 2010, and recently published a monographic study on the history and presence of antiziganism in Sweden. Markus End is a Lecturer at the University of Hildesheim and a board member of the Gesellschaft fur Antiziganismusforschung. Markus published widely in the field of antiziganism research. His latest publication is a monographic study of antiziganism in the German media. Hristo Kyuchukov is Professor of General Linguistics (Romani / Balkan Turkish) at St. Elizabeth University in Bratislava. He has published extensively on the Romani language, Turkish dialects spoken by Muslim Roma in the Balkans, the education of Roma children in Europe, and antigypsyism. Pia Laskar is a Senior Lecturer in Critical Sexuality and Gender Studies in the Unit for Interdisciplinary Gender Studies at Linkoping University. She is the chair of Intersectional Roma Studies at the GexCel International Collegium research strand Culture and Society, where she merges critical studies of race, gender and sexuality. Bill Templer is a Chicago-born applied linguist with research interests in English language teaching, critical pedagogy and minority studies. Bill is a Deputy Chief Editor of the Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, and is based in Shumen, Bulgaria.