Call For Papers: Recording Romani Voices, Documenting Romani Lives Workshop (June 13-14, 2022)
June 13-14, 2022 at Central European University, Vienna Application Deadline: March 1, 2022 Testimonies, oral histories, and ethnographic interviews are central sources for the writing of Romani history, in particular the documentation and memorialization of the Romani genocide, and a resource for pedagogical work to combat ongoing persecution against Roma in Europe. They also play a major role in Romani political debates. Nonetheless, Romani testimonies remain somewhat hidden from scholarship, and underappreciated for their unique ability to provide insight into the experiences of Roma survivors of genocide, as well as provide a rich picture of the past. At the same time, the origins and motivations behind the collection of testimony are varied, and not without controversy. Some earlier collections, for example, focus primarily on Romani folktales, songs, and stories, and could be viewed as catering to the desire for exotic outsiders rather than documenting lived experiences or reflect on the power relations that make these interviews possible. Other Romani testimonies stem from police efforts to surveil Romani populations. Despite their problematic origins, these sources remain essential for the (re)construction of Roma history and identity. Often the troubling histories of these archives also reveal long-standing mechanisms of exclusion and highlight methodological […]
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