Jekatyerina Dunajeva explores how two dominant stereotypes―"bad Gypsies" and "good Roma"―took hold in formal and informal educational institutions in Russia and Hungary. She shows that over centuries "Gypsies" came to be associated with criminality, lack of education, and backwardness. The second notion, of proud, empowered, and educated "Roma," is a more recent development.
By identifying five historical phases―pre-modern, early-modern, early and "ripe" communism, and neomodern nation-building―the book captures crucial legacies that deepen social divisions and normalize the constructed group images. The analysis of the state-managed Roma identity project in the brief korenizatsija program for the integration of non-Russian nationalities into the Soviet civil service in the 1920s is particularly revealing, while the critique of contemporary endeavors is a valuable resource for policy makers and civic activists alike.
The top-down view is complemented with the bottom-up attention to everyday Roma voices. Personal stories reveal how identities operate in daily life, as Dunajeva brings out hidden narratives and subaltern discourse. Her handling of fieldwork and self-reflexivity is a model of sensitive research with vulnerable groups.
Author(s): Jekatyerina Dunajeva
Series: Critical Romani Studies Book Series
Publisher: Central European University Press
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 239
City: Budapest
Front cover
Front matter
Series title page
Title page
Copyright page
Table of contents
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Part I Introduction
Chapter 1 Author’s Purpose
Personal Note
Roma and Romani Studies
Notes on Methodology
Structure and Subject of the Book
Chapter 2 Theories and Concepts—State, Nation, and Identity
Homogenization Efforts During State and Nation Building
Managing the Population and Classifying Identities
Comparative and Historical Study: Roma in Hungary and Russia throughout Time
Part II Bad Gypsies and Good Roma in Historical Perspective
Chapter 3 Early Nation and State Building in Empires
Early State and Nation Building: Control over the “Other”
Enduring “Backwardness”
Chapter 4 The End of Empires
The End of Empires: World War One and the 1917 Revolution
Soviet Nativization Policies in the 1920s and ’30s
Hungary After the Treaty of Trianon
A Note on the Holocaust
Chapter 5 State Socialism (1945–1989)
Assimilationist Campaigns
Political Education in State-Socialist Schools
Categorization of Roma: Legacies of Socialist Identity Politics and Critical Voices
Part III Contemporary Identity Formation
Chapter 6 Fieldwork
Fieldwork and Positionality
Ethnography: Ethics, Reflexivity, and Positionality
Chapter 7 “Bad Gypsies”—Negotiation of Identities in Primary Schools
Neo-Modern State Building: National Revival and Patriotic Youth
Bad Gypsies in Segregated Schools
Disciplining Bad Gypsies in Classrooms
Reproducing and Contesting Stereotypes
Chapter 8 Making Good Roma from Bad Gypsies
Contemporary Antigypsyism
Pro-Roma Civil Society’s Roots, Goals, and Projects
Negotiation of Identity and Non-state Actors
Chapter 9 Negotiating Identity
Identity Struggles
Identity and Belonging
Kinship and Community
Part IV Concluding Remarks
Chapter 10 Summary and Best Practices
Best Practices
References
Index
Back cover
