Romani History Seminar hosts online discussions of unpublished texts, such as dissertation chapters, draft papers, and book chapters. Our goal is to bring together specialists in Romani history and scholars from related fields to provide collective feedback on ongoing historiographical work in an engaging, constructively critical, and supportive environment. Contributions from doctoral students and early career scholars are particularly welcome.
The workshop was initiated by Kateřina Čapková (Institute of Contemporary History, Czech Academy of Sciences) and Ari Joskowicz (Vanderbilt University), who are members of the steering committee of the Prague Forum for Romani Histories. Seminars are organized by Renata Berkyová (Prague Forum for Romani Histories), Théophile Leroy (School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Paris), and Vita Zalar (Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Ljubljana).
Information about individual seminars and links to Zoom registration are distributed via a Mailchimp email list.
If you would like to join our email list, submit a paper for the seminar, or have other questions, you can reach the organizers at berkyova@usd.cas.cz, theophile.leroy@ehess.fr, or vita.zalar@zrc-sazu.si.
Romani History Seminar, November Session
On Thursday, 14 November at 6:00 PM CET, we will discuss Tatiana Sirbu's draft article "Officials and Nomads on the border of the Russian Empire. The 'Bessarabian Border Office of Gypsies belonging to the crown' in...
Romani History Seminar: „Correction, Violence and Race in the Workhouses of the Czech Lands“
On Wednesday, 30 October at 6:00 PM CET, we will discuss Pavel Baloun´s and Jiří Smlsal´s preliminary article „Correction, Violence and Race in the Workhouses of the Czech Lands".
On Wednesday, 30 October at 6:00 PM CET, we will discuss Pavel Baloun´s and Jiří Smlsal´s preliminary article „Correction, Violence and Race in the Workhouses of the Czech Lands". Karola Fings will be our invited...
Romani History Seminar (Online)
"'Folk music is Balkan music.' Kotel musicians’ positioning, between re-appropriation and resignification."
On Wednesday, 17 April at 5:00 PM CET, we will discuss Camilla Salvatore's dissertation chapter "'Folk music is Balkan music.' Kotel musicians’ positioning, between re-appropriation and resignification." Carol Silverman...
James et al.: „Who Counts in Official Statistics? Ethical-Epistemic Issues in German Migration and the Collection of Racial or Ethnic Data“
Daniel James, Morgan Thompson and Tereza Hendl
On Wednesday, 1 November at 5:00 PM CET, we will be discussing Daniel James, Morgan Thompson and Tereza Hendl´s draft "Who Counts in Official Statistics? Ethical-Epistemic Issues in German Migration and the Collection of...
Siv B. Lie: “Django Under the Nazis: Subversive Stories, Uncertain Resistance, and Romani Essentialism in Popular Media.”
On Wednesday, 14 June at 5:00 PM CET, we will be discussing Siv B. Lie 's draft article “Django Under the Nazis: Subversive Stories, Uncertain Resistance, and Romani Essentialism in Popular Media.” Dr. Adriana Helbig has...
Dalen Wakeley-Smith: Fear the Fortune Teller: American Romani Women and the New York City Police Department (NYPD)
On Wednesday 24 May at 5:00 PM CET, we will be discusing Dalen Wakeley-Smith´s draft thesis chapter entitled Fear the Fortune Teller: American Romani Women and the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Ann Ostendorf...
Helena Sadílková: “Strategies Of Participation And Negotiation: Socially Engaged Roma In Post-War Czechoslovakia 1948-1969”
On Wednesday 5 April at 6:00 PM CET, we will be discusing Helena Sadílková’s draft article entitled “Strategies of participation and negotiation: Socially engaged Roma in post-war Czechoslovakia 1948-1969” Eszter...
Vita Zalar: Antinomies of Romaniness in the Habsburg Empire, 1860-1918
Romani History Seminar
On Wednesday 22 March at 6:30 PM CET, we will be discusing Vita Zalar's draft thesis chapter entitled "Antinomies of Romaniness in the Habsburg Empire, 1860-1918"". Jennifer Illuzzi has kindly accepted to be our main discussant.
Leonard Stöcklein: „If we don’t get a seat at the table, then we’ll just create our own“. Memorial work of the Sinti_ze and Rom_nja in the shadow of trauma, transgenerationality and memory using the example of Neumünster
WEDNESDAY 16 November at 6pm (CET) Author: Leonard Stöcklein Discussant: Joey Rauschenberger Abstract Against the background of a second persecution, to which Sinti_ze and Rom_nja were exposed after 1945,...
‘The minor would hinder the mother in finding employment’: Child protection regulating women’s labor force participation
Tuesday, 26 April at 3:00 pm (CET). We will discuss Eszter Varsa’s chapter “‘The minor would hinder the mother in finding employment’: Child protection regulating women’s labor force participation” from her...
The Romani Family before and during the Holocaust: How Much Do We Know?
The next meeting of the Romani History Seminar will take place on Wednesday, 6 April 2022 at 5:00 pm (CET). We will discuss a published article by Volha Bartash (University of Regensburg) « The Romani Family before...
“Towards the state of exception: Roma in Polish police journals in 1920–1939”
Romani History Seminar Wednesday, 19 January 2022, 5:30 PM (CET) Author: Piotr Wawrzeniuk (Swedish Defence University): Discussant: Jennifer Illuzzi (Providence College, USA) The article analyses Polish police...
Inside the Churches: The Gitanos and the Right of Asylum in the Seventeenth-Century Habsburg Spain
Romani History Workshop 15 December 2021 at 5 PM (CET) Author: Maria Gloria Tumminelli, University of Pavia, mariagloria.tumminelli@hotmail.it Discussant: Massimo Aresu, University of Leeds, m.aresu@leeds.ac.uk...
„Persecution of the Tulcean Roma, 1927–1947: An Ethnography of Violence“
Romani History Workshop 25 November 2021 at 6 PM (CET) Grégoire Cousin (University of Verona, Italy) with the draft article "Persecution of the Tulcean Roma, 1927–1947: An Ethnography of Violence" Discussant: Petre...
‘We weren’t nomadic gypsies but old settlers!’ Belonging and mobility of the Roma in eastern Slovakia
Romani History Workshop 30 June 2021 at 5 PM Author: Jan Ort (Faculty of Arts, Charles University): Discussant: Pavel Baloun (Faculty of Humanities, Charles University) Taking a microhistorical approach, the article...
Reckoning with the Romani and Jewish Holocaust in Europe, 1979 to today
Author: Ari Joskowicz (Vanderbilt University) Discussant: Ljiljana Radonić (Austrian Academy of Sciences) In the first session of the Romani History Seminar, the participants will read and discuss a pre-circulated paper...
