The Roma form an integral part of the European society, history and culture. In spite of the extraordinary diversity of
their communities across Europe and inside each of the states on this territory, popular homogenizing image “of
the Roma” continues to prevail. Grounded in a mixture of sources ranging from social stereotyping to romanticism
and influenced by selective media coverage of the issues connected with the Roma, such image continues to
obstruct a more nuanced and inspiring vision of the Roma as European citizens sharing in its history and culture in
the large as well as narrow sense of the word. In this course, we will learn about and discuss topics that are key to
the understanding of the situation and position of the Roma as one of the largest European historical “minorities”,
and the repercussions that stem from this position, including the production of knowledge and research that
underpins it. On the example of a selection of topics from different fields of current Romani studies, we will explore
not only the present day knowledge on the Roma, but also what this knowledge tells us about the European
societies they have historically interacted with. In parallel with this focus, we will also introduce current debates on
approaches and methodology in the field of Romani studies, and the possibilities and challenges faced.
The course is composed of twelve thematic lessons which cover the main subdisciplines of Romani studies, such
as history, linguistics, anthropology, political science and arts. The first part (seven lessons) of the course is
focused on key general issues and debates about the Roma and Romani studies, second part (five lessons)
contextualizes and enlarges the introductory general debate in topics relevant for the current Czech
republic/former Czechoslovakia. The course is taught by researchers from institutes at four European universities
that belong to the current top research and education institutions in the field of Romani studies
Poslední úprava: Januška Jiří, Ph.D. (05.07.2021)
The Roma form an integral part of the European society, history and culture. In spite of the extraordinary diversity of
their communities across Europe and inside each of the states on this territory, popular homogenizing image “of
the Roma” continues to prevail. Grounded in a mixture of sources ranging from social stereotyping to romanticism
and influenced by selective media coverage of the issues connected with the Roma, such image continues to
obstruct a more nuanced and inspiring vision of the Roma as European citizens sharing in its history and culture in
the large as well as narrow sense of the word. In this course, we will learn about and discuss topics that are key to
the understanding of the situation and position of the Roma as one of the largest European historical “minorities”,
and the repercussions that stem from this position, including the production of knowledge and research that
underpins it. On the example of a selection of topics from different fields of current Romani studies, we will explore
not only the present day knowledge on the Roma, but also what this knowledge tells us about the European
societies they have historically interacted with. In parallel with this focus, we will also introduce current debates on
approaches and methodology in the field of Romani studies, and the possibilities and challenges faced.
The course is composed of twelve thematic lessons which cover the main subdisciplines of Romani studies, such
as history, linguistics, anthropology, political science and arts. The first part (seven lessons) of the course is
focused on key general issues and debates about the Roma and Romani studies, second part (five lessons)
contextualizes and enlarges the introductory general debate in topics relevant for the current Czech
republic/former Czechoslovakia. The course is taught by researchers from institutes at four European universities
that belong to the current top research and education institutions in the field of Romani studies
Poslední úprava: Januška Jiří, Ph.D. (05.07.2021)
Literatura -
ABU GHOSH, Yasar. 2010. Crediting Recognition: monetary transactions of poor Roma. In Multi-disciplinary Approaches to Romany Studies, M. Stewart and M. Rovid (eds.), CEU Press, Budapest, pp. 91-107.
ANDRŠ, Zbyněk. 2016. The song folklore of the Roma in the Slovak and Czech Republics: Ethnosemantic and ethnohistorical approach. Praha: Kher. Text available: .
Songs available :.
Film available:
BAKKER, Peter. 2012. Romani genetic linguistics and genetics: Results, prospects and problems. Romani Studies 22.2: 91-111.
BENÍŠEK, MICHAL. 2020. The Historical Origins of Romani. In Matras Y., Tenser A.: The Palgrave Handbook of Romani Language and Linguistics. Cham, Palgrave Macmillan, Pp. 13-47.
BORETZKY, Norbert. 2007. The differentiation of the Romani dialects. Sprachtypologie und Universalienforschung (STUF) 60: 314-336.
ČERVENKA, Jan. 2014. Individualization in Romani Art: Three Ways of Relating to Tradition. Paper for Annual meeting of Gypsy Lore Society, 13. 9. 2014, Bratislava. Unpublished, will be submitted.
ČERVENKA, Jan. 2020. Romani literature written in Romani in the Czech republic from the beginning to nowadays. In Granquist - Kozhanov (eds.): Textbook of Romani studies (working title, in print)
DONNERT, Celia. 2017. The Rights of the Roma: The Struggle for Citizenship in Postwar Czechoslovakia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ELŠÍK, Viktor. 2003. Interdialect contact of Czech (and Slovak) Romani varieties. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 162: 41-62.
ELŠÍK, Viktor. - MATRAS, Yaron. 2006. Markedness and Language Change. The Romani Sample. Berlin/New York: Mouton De Gruyter.
Gheorge, Nicolae. - Liegeois, Jean-Pierre. 1995. Roma/Gypsy: A European Minority. London: Minority Rights Group
GRILL, Jan. 2012. ‘Going up to England’: Exploring mobilities among Roma from Eastern Slovakia. In: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 38, no. 8, September 2012, pp. 1269-1287.
GRILL, Jan. 2016. ‘Endured Labour’ and ‘Fixing Up’ Money: The Economic Strategies of Roma Migrants in Slovakia and the UK. In M. Brazzabeni, M. I. Cunha, & M. Fotta (Eds.), Gypsy Economy: Romani Livelihoods and Notions of Worth in the 21st Century. (pp. 88-106). New York, Oxford: Beghahn.
GRILL, Jan. 2017. ‚In England, they don’t call you black!‘ Migrating racialisations and the production of Roma difference across Europe. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1-20.
The Gypsies During the Second World War: From Race Science to the Camps. University of Hertfordshire Press.
GUY, Will. 1998 (1975). Ways of Looking at Roma: The Case of Czechoslovakia (1975). In: Tong, Diane, ed. Gypsies: an interdisciplinary reader. New York: Garland Publishing, 1998. xv, 353 s. Garland reference library of the humanities; vol. 2039. ISBN 0-8153-2549-5
HAJSKÁ, Markéta. 2017. Economic strategies and migratory trajectories of Vlach Roma from Eastern Slovakia to Leicester, UK. Slovenský národopis 65 (2017), No. 4, 357-382
HRUSTIČ, Tomáš. 2016. Usury among the Slovak Roma: Notes on Relations between Lenders and Borrowers in a Segregated Taboris. In: M. Brazzabeni, M. I. Cunha, & M. Fotta (eds.), Gypsy Economy: Romani Livelihoods and Notions of Worth in the 21st Century. New York, Oxford: Beghahn, 31-48.
HÜBSCHMANNOVÁ, Milena. 1999 My Encounters with Romano šukar laviben. German version 2015 Meine Begegnungen mit dem Šukar Laviben der Roma, available here: . French version 2008 Mes rencontres avec le Romano sukar laviben, available here:
KENRICK, Donald, ed. Gypsies during the Second World War, vol 3: The Final Chapter. Hatfield: University of Hertforshire Press.
KOVATS, Martin. 2001. The Emergence of European Roma Policy. In Guy, ed. Between Past and Future: the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe . Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press, 93-116.
LACKOVÁ, Elena. 2000. A False Dawn : My Life as a Gypsy Woman in Slovakia. Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press
MAGAZZINI, Tina. - PIEMONTESE, Stefano (eds). 2019. Constructing Roma Migrants. European Narratives and Local Governance. Cham: Springer Nature
MATRAS, Yaron. 2002. Romani: A linguistic introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
MATRAS, Yaron. 2004. The Role of Language in Mystifying and De-mystifying Gypsy Identity. In The role of the Romanies, ed. Saul, N. & Tebbut, S. eds, 53 - 78. Liverpool: University of Liverpool Press
MATRAs, Yaron. - TENSER, Anton. 2020. The Palgrave Handbook of Romani Language and Linguistics. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
NEČAS, Ctibor (1999). The Holocaust of Czech Roma. Prague: Prostor.
OPREA, Alexandra 2004. Re-envisioning Social Justice from the Ground Up: Including the Experiences of Romani Women. Essex Human Rights Review. Vol. 1 No. 1. Pp. 29-39.
ROVID, Márton (eds.) Multidisciplinary Approaches to Romany Studies. Central European University, Budapest: 13- 35.
SADÍLKOVÁ, Helena. 2020a. Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti on the Territory of Czechoslovakia. In: Factsheets on Roma - History. Available at:
SADÍLKOVÁ, Helena. 2020b. The Postwar Migration of Romani Families from Slovakia to the Bohemian Lands. A complex legacy of war and genocide in Czechoslovakia. In: Adler. E.R. & Čapková, K.: Jewish and Romani Families in the Holocaust and its Aftermath. Rutgers University Press: New Bruswick, Camden, and Newark, New Jersey, and London. P. 190-217
SCHEFFEL, David. 2005. Svinia in Black & White: Slovak Roma and Their Neighbours. University of Toronto Press.
STEWART, Michael. 2013. Roma and Gypsy „Ethnicity“ as a Subject of Anthropological Inquiry. Annual Review of Anthropology, 42 (1), pp. 415-432.
ŠOTOLA, J.- RODRÍGUEZ, Polo M. - ŠKOBLA, D. 2018. Slovak Roma Beyond Anthropological Escapism and Exotic Otherness. Concept of „Whiteness“ and the Structures of Everyday Life. Slovenský národopis 66 (4), 487-500.
TCHERENKOV, Lev; LAEDERICH, Stephane. 2004. The Roma. Otherwise known as Gypsies, Gitanos, Tsiganes, Ţigani, Çingene, Zigeuner, Bohémiens, Travellers, Fahrende, etc. Vol. 1. History, Language, and Groups. Basel: Schwabe Verlag.
TURNER, R.L. 1926. The position of Romani in Indo-Aryan. Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, Third series, Vol. 5: 145-189
VAŠEČKA, I.- VAŠEČKA, M. 2003. „Recent Romani Migration from Slovakia to EU Member
States: Romani Reaction to Discrimination or Romani Ethno-tourism?“ Nationalities
WEISS-WENDT, Anton. The Nazi Genocide of the Roma: Reassessment and Commemoration. Berghahn Books, 2015.
Papers 31 (1): 29-47.
Journals:
Critical Romani Studies (2018-2020)
Slovenský národopis 2020, 68 (4)
Slovenský národopis 2018, 66 (4)
Websites:
Factsheets on Romani history. University of graz /Council of Europe. Availbale at:
Voices of the victims; Roma Civil Rights movement. Available at:
The Announcement of Landscape-Architectural Competition Lety u Písku. Memorial to the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in Bohemia. Museum of Romani Culture, Brno, 2019. Available at: https://www.newmemoriallety.com/#competition
Poslední úprava: Januška Jiří, Ph.D. (05.07.2021)
ABU GHOSH, Yasar. 2010. Crediting Recognition: monetary transactions of poor Roma. In Multi-disciplinary Approaches to Romany Studies, M. Stewart and M. Rovid (eds.), CEU Press, Budapest, pp. 91-107.
ANDRŠ, Zbyněk. 2016. The song folklore of the Roma in the Slovak and Czech Republics: Ethnosemantic and ethnohistorical approach. Praha: Kher. Text available: .
Songs available :.
Film available:
BAKKER, Peter. 2012. Romani genetic linguistics and genetics: Results, prospects and problems. Romani Studies 22.2: 91-111.
BENÍŠEK, MICHAL. 2020. The Historical Origins of Romani. In Matras Y., Tenser A.: The Palgrave Handbook of Romani Language and Linguistics. Cham, Palgrave Macmillan, Pp. 13-47.
BORETZKY, Norbert. 2007. The differentiation of the Romani dialects. Sprachtypologie und Universalienforschung (STUF) 60: 314-336.
ČERVENKA, Jan. 2014. Individualization in Romani Art: Three Ways of Relating to Tradition. Paper for Annual meeting of Gypsy Lore Society, 13. 9. 2014, Bratislava. Unpublished, will be submitted.
ČERVENKA, Jan. 2020. Romani literature written in Romani in the Czech republic from the beginning to nowadays. In Granquist - Kozhanov (eds.): Textbook of Romani studies (working title, in print)
DONNERT, Celia. 2017. The Rights of the Roma: The Struggle for Citizenship in Postwar Czechoslovakia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ELŠÍK, Viktor. 2003. Interdialect contact of Czech (and Slovak) Romani varieties. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 162: 41-62.
ELŠÍK, Viktor. - MATRAS, Yaron. 2006. Markedness and Language Change. The Romani Sample. Berlin/New York: Mouton De Gruyter.
Gheorge, Nicolae. - Liegeois, Jean-Pierre. 1995. Roma/Gypsy: A European Minority. London: Minority Rights Group
GRILL, Jan. 2012. ‘Going up to England’: Exploring mobilities among Roma from Eastern Slovakia. In: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 38, no. 8, September 2012, pp. 1269-1287.
GRILL, Jan. 2016. ‘Endured Labour’ and ‘Fixing Up’ Money: The Economic Strategies of Roma Migrants in Slovakia and the UK. In M. Brazzabeni, M. I. Cunha, & M. Fotta (Eds.), Gypsy Economy: Romani Livelihoods and Notions of Worth in the 21st Century. (pp. 88-106). New York, Oxford: Beghahn.
GRILL, Jan. 2017. ‚In England, they don’t call you black!‘ Migrating racialisations and the production of Roma difference across Europe. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1-20.
The Gypsies During the Second World War: From Race Science to the Camps. University of Hertfordshire Press.
GUY, Will. 1998 (1975). Ways of Looking at Roma: The Case of Czechoslovakia (1975). In: Tong, Diane, ed. Gypsies: an interdisciplinary reader. New York: Garland Publishing, 1998. xv, 353 s. Garland reference library of the humanities; vol. 2039. ISBN 0-8153-2549-5
HAJSKÁ, Markéta. 2017. Economic strategies and migratory trajectories of Vlach Roma from Eastern Slovakia to Leicester, UK. Slovenský národopis 65 (2017), No. 4, 357-382
HRUSTIČ, Tomáš. 2016. Usury among the Slovak Roma: Notes on Relations between Lenders and Borrowers in a Segregated Taboris. In: M. Brazzabeni, M. I. Cunha, & M. Fotta (eds.), Gypsy Economy: Romani Livelihoods and Notions of Worth in the 21st Century. New York, Oxford: Beghahn, 31-48.
HÜBSCHMANNOVÁ, Milena. 1999 My Encounters with Romano šukar laviben. German version 2015 Meine Begegnungen mit dem Šukar Laviben der Roma, available here: . French version 2008 Mes rencontres avec le Romano sukar laviben, available here:
KENRICK, Donald, ed. Gypsies during the Second World War, vol 3: The Final Chapter. Hatfield: University of Hertforshire Press.
KOVATS, Martin. 2001. The Emergence of European Roma Policy. In Guy, ed. Between Past and Future: the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe . Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press, 93-116.
LACKOVÁ, Elena. 2000. A False Dawn : My Life as a Gypsy Woman in Slovakia. Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press
MAGAZZINI, Tina. - PIEMONTESE, Stefano (eds). 2019. Constructing Roma Migrants. European Narratives and Local Governance. Cham: Springer Nature
MATRAS, Yaron. 2002. Romani: A linguistic introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
MATRAS, Yaron. 2004. The Role of Language in Mystifying and De-mystifying Gypsy Identity. In The role of the Romanies, ed. Saul, N. & Tebbut, S. eds, 53 - 78. Liverpool: University of Liverpool Press
MATRAs, Yaron. - TENSER, Anton. 2020. The Palgrave Handbook of Romani Language and Linguistics. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
NEČAS, Ctibor (1999). The Holocaust of Czech Roma. Prague: Prostor.
OPREA, Alexandra 2004. Re-envisioning Social Justice from the Ground Up: Including the Experiences of Romani Women. Essex Human Rights Review. Vol. 1 No. 1. Pp. 29-39.
ROVID, Márton (eds.) Multidisciplinary Approaches to Romany Studies. Central European University, Budapest: 13- 35.
SADÍLKOVÁ, Helena. 2020a. Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti on the Territory of Czechoslovakia. In: Factsheets on Roma - History. Available at:
SADÍLKOVÁ, Helena. 2020b. The Postwar Migration of Romani Families from Slovakia to the Bohemian Lands. A complex legacy of war and genocide in Czechoslovakia. In: Adler. E.R. & Čapková, K.: Jewish and Romani Families in the Holocaust and its Aftermath. Rutgers University Press: New Bruswick, Camden, and Newark, New Jersey, and London. P. 190-217
SCHEFFEL, David. 2005. Svinia in Black & White: Slovak Roma and Their Neighbours. University of Toronto Press.
STEWART, Michael. 2013. Roma and Gypsy „Ethnicity“ as a Subject of Anthropological Inquiry. Annual Review of Anthropology, 42 (1), pp. 415-432.
ŠOTOLA, J.- RODRÍGUEZ, Polo M. - ŠKOBLA, D. 2018. Slovak Roma Beyond Anthropological Escapism and Exotic Otherness. Concept of „Whiteness“ and the Structures of Everyday Life. Slovenský národopis 66 (4), 487-500.
TCHERENKOV, Lev; LAEDERICH, Stephane. 2004. The Roma. Otherwise known as Gypsies, Gitanos, Tsiganes, Ţigani, Çingene, Zigeuner, Bohémiens, Travellers, Fahrende, etc. Vol. 1. History, Language, and Groups. Basel: Schwabe Verlag.
TURNER, R.L. 1926. The position of Romani in Indo-Aryan. Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, Third series, Vol. 5: 145-189
VAŠEČKA, I.- VAŠEČKA, M. 2003. „Recent Romani Migration from Slovakia to EU Member
States: Romani Reaction to Discrimination or Romani Ethno-tourism?“ Nationalities
WEISS-WENDT, Anton. The Nazi Genocide of the Roma: Reassessment and Commemoration. Berghahn Books, 2015.
Papers 31 (1): 29-47.
Journals:
Critical Romani Studies (2018-2020)
Slovenský národopis 2020, 68 (4)
Slovenský národopis 2018, 66 (4)
Websites:
Factsheets on Romani history. University of graz /Council of Europe. Availbale at:
Voices of the victims; Roma Civil Rights movement. Available at:
The Announcement of Landscape-Architectural Competition Lety u Písku. Memorial to the Holocaust of the Roma and Sinti in Bohemia. Museum of Romani Culture, Brno, 2019. Available at: https://www.newmemoriallety.com/#competition
Poslední úprava: Januška Jiří, Ph.D. (05.07.2021)
Sylabus -
Two parts:
1.The Roma and Romani studies: general issues and debates
1) Naming of the Roma, Romani groups in the contemporary world - Pavel Kubaník, 6.10.
2) Migration and movement of the Roma: main directions, localization, and concepts – Markéta Hajská, 13.10.
3) Approaches to Romani origin – Michael Beníšek, 20.10.
4) European history of the Roma, its research and possibilities of its conceptualization – Helena Sadílková, 27.10.
5) Romani dialectology and structure, sociolinguistic situation of Romani language speakers, Roma as multilingual speakers in monolingual states – Kimmo Granquist, 3.11.
6) Racial justice for Roma– Marton Rovid, 10.11.
7) Romani feminism and intersectionality–Angela Kocse, 24.11.
2. The Roma and Romani Studies in the Czech/Czechoslovak context
8) Roma groups in the territory of former Czechoslovakia and their history until the end of the 20th century (overview) – Markéta Hajská, 1.12.
9) Sociolinguistic situation of Romani in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and Romani in school - Pavel Kubaník, 8.12.
10) The Holocaust of the Czechoslovak Roma and Sinti, its aftermath and current resonances: debates on the former Gypsy concentration camp in Lety u Písku - Helena Sadílková,15.2..
11) Romani literature and art – Jan Červenka, 22.12.
12) Roma as a subject of anthropological research – Markéta Hajská and Jan Ort, 5.1.
Poslední úprava: Beníšek Michael, Ph.D. (18.09.2021)
Two parts:
1.The Roma and Romani studies: general issues and debates
1) Naming of the Roma, Romani groups in the contemporary world - Pavel Kubaník, 6.10.
2) Migration and movement of the Roma: main directions, localization, and concepts – Markéta Hajská, 13.10.
3) Approaches to Romani origin – Michael Beníšek, 20.10.
4) European history of the Roma, its research and possibilities of its conceptualization – Helena Sadílková, 27.10.
5) Romani dialectology and structure, sociolinguistic situation of Romani language speakers, Roma as multilingual speakers in monolingual states – Kimmo Granquist, 3.11.
6) Racial justice for Roma– Marton Rovid, 10.11.
7) Romani feminism and intersectionality–Angela Kocse, 24.11.
2. The Roma and Romani Studies in the Czech/Czechoslovak context
8) Roma groups in the territory of former Czechoslovakia and their history until the end of the 20th century (overview) – Markéta Hajská, 1.12.
9) Sociolinguistic situation of Romani in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and Romani in school - Pavel Kubaník, 8.12.
10) The Holocaust of the Czechoslovak Roma and Sinti, its aftermath and current resonances: debates on the former Gypsy concentration camp in Lety u Písku - Helena Sadílková,15.2..
11) Romani literature and art – Jan Červenka, 22.12.
12) Roma as a subject of anthropological research – Markéta Hajská and Jan Ort, 5.1.
Poslední úprava: Beníšek Michael, Ph.D. (18.09.2021)