SM 629 European Policy and Practice towards the Roma***

Department of Public and Social Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University

with support of the

Curriculum Development Competition, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary

and

European Commission Jean Monnet Action

You can download or print the PDF version of this syllabus here.

Lecturers:   Dr Ilona Klimova-Alexander, PhD, PhDr. Laura Laubeova, Lucie Cviklova, PhD candidate & guest speakers

Place:     Jinonice  3019

Time:      Wednesday 17:00 – 18:20

Semester:   Summer 2004/2005

ECTS Credits:    8

COURSE TIMETABLE

(Please refer to the above notice for changes in dates and topics)

Aims of the Course and Teaching Objectives

The principles of equality, non-discrimination, observance of human rights and protection of ethnic minorities are fundamental European values. Ethnic discrimination in its various forms and manifestations has been made illegal through the recent EU anti-discrimination directives, recognising that it is harmful to the social and educational development of individuals and to Europe as a whole.  It can lead to marginalised and socially excluded groups, unemployment and poverty in ghettoised districts and negatively influence already disadvantaged regions. One of the traditionally most severely marginalized and excluded groups have been the Roma, Gypsies, and Travellers.

The course aims to explain reasons behind prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination against these ethnic groups and to introduce students to public and social policy measures dealing with these negative phenomena at the global, European and national levels. It aims to enable students to acquire general information as well as in depth knowledge of policies towards the Roma, Gypsies, and Travellers, as the most marginalized (or de-facto discriminated) groups in Europe.

Besides providing the students with thorough understanding of the above-identified phenomena, the course also aims to further develop the students’ generic skills which can be applied in both academia and practice (variety of employments as well as social contact in general).

Such skills include:

• Comprehension skills: Understanding the key concepts and ideas important for the European policy and practice towards Roma such as equal opportunity, cultural reproduction of discrimination, assimilation, segregation etc.
• Critical thinking skills: The capacity for independent thought and judgment on the basis of the above presented abstract/theoretical concepts (analyzing and evaluating arguments and concrete empirical cases of the dissimilation, discrimination and similar forms of “modus vivendi of Romani people and other citizens in the different national systems)
• Communications skills: The ability to present sustained, cogent and persuasive arguments in both oral and written form and the ability to conduct research related to exclusion of Romani people from the Czech and Slovak society (including interviews with representatives of organizations dealing with Romani issues, participant observation in the local Romani communities, etc.)
• Team skills: The ability to work cooperatively with others through the presentation of ideas and negotiations of differing views and the ability to synthesize individual research results (comparison of the student’s individual results of participant observation of the same local Romani community, etc.

Course structure

The course will be composed of 12 lectures followed by discussions-cum-seminars. The first part of the course provides general background to the study of European policy and practice towards the Roma. It explains the terminology used in relation to this topic and the controversies associated with it and gives background about Romani communities, their history, culture and social and political organisation. The second part concentrates on policies towards the Roma, starting with an overview of European policy towards the Roma. It then deals more specifically with anti-discrimination and educational policies and issues of racism. It also investigates the impact of European policies on Romani identity-building processes and the impact of international human rights norms on policy formation towards the Roma in the 1990s. The third part is dedicated to country studies, looking in more detail on the specific conditions of Romani communities and the policy and practice towards them in selected countries. The Czech case study exemplifies the situation in Central Europe, the case study of the United Kingdom is selected as an example of a Western European situation and approach, and analysis of the situation in former Yugoslavia provides insight into Eastern European practice. An important component of this part of the course is field research carried out in a Romani community in the Czech Republic. In preparation for the actual field research, students will be given an introduction to research methods which are used in collecting information about negatively privileged groups (in-depth interviewing etc.) The introduction into the research methods includes the following: defining problems of Romani people, reviewing relevant literature, formulating hypotheses, selecting a research design, carrying out the research, interpreting the results, and strategies of reporting the research findings. Students will also learn how to evaluate and present fieldwork limitations and limitations of national statistics related to Romani people (including the manipulative aspects of the presentation of these statistics by national institutions). Lastly, the students will learn to use research confidence-building measures for the purposes of data collection, interviews and participant observation. The course will end with contemplation of preconditions for Romani integration, followed by a review of the course.

Assessment

Student assessment in this course comprises of four components:

All students are expected to be fully familiar with every week’s required readings and bring to class their own considered questions and reactions to the material. The seminar discussion is intended to enable you to develop your understanding of the readings and to exchange ideas with others and your attendance and participation in the seminar will be reflected in your grade.

Students who fail to complete one or more of these four components will be required to take a written test during the regular examination period. The test will cover all compulsory readings and all lecture topics.

AQCI: ARGUMENT, QUESTION, CONNECTIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS*

For each discussion-cum-seminar three students will be required to prepare a single sheet of A4 relating to ONE article from the reading list for that particular week’s topic in the format of AQCI. All students will be required to pick three ACQI articles from three different weekly reading lists (i.e. one article from each of the three chosen weeks). Although only three AQCI’s per person will be marked, students may wish to prepare one AQCI every week in order to structure their thinking about the topic.

The structure of a written AQCI should be as follows (i.e. you should keep the numbered paragraph structure):

1.CENTRAL QUOTATION. Quote a sentence (or excerpts from linked sentences) from the text that you think is central to the author's (or authors') implicit or explicit argument(s). Always cite the page.

2. ARGUMENT. In a few sentences, state the author's explicit or implicit argument. Be sure to include both: what the author is arguing for, and what s/he is arguing against.

3. QUESTION. Raise a question which you think is not fully, or satisfactorily, answered by the text. The question should be a question of interpretation or of inquiry, not simply a question of fact.

4. EXPERIENTIAL CONNECTION. Say, in a few lines only, how the argument confirms or contradicts your own experience or common sense.

5. TEXTUAL CONNECTION. Connect the argument of this text to an argument or point you find in another reading assignment covered in this course or one you have picked up from earlier study at the university or elsewhere. Present a quote from the other text (citing it properly), and explain how the present text's argument contrasts with, contradicts, confirms, clarifies, or elaborates the other text's argument or point.

6. IMPLICATIONS. Lay out what this argument (#2 above) implies for understanding or improving society, relations between individuals, or groups (e.g. ethnic, national, etc.) or any facet of social or cultural reality (a few sentences only).

AQCIs should not exceed one typed page. They should be typed or word-processed, proofread and printed with the same degree of care as essays.

Course structure

All relevant course materials, including this syllabus, can be found on the course website: http://people.pwf.cam.ac.uk/ik217/courseindex.html which will be updated weekly. Majority of lectures will be delivered in the form of Power Point slide presentations which will also be placed on the website for your convenience.

The reader contains all required readings listed below. A sufficient number of copies of the readers will be placed in the University library study room in Jinonice. Students can also borrow the readers directly from the lecturers for a deposit of 600 CZK. Several copies of all optional readings listed below will also be placed on a reserve shelve in the University library study room and can be photocopied there. Note that a number of required and optional readings are also available through the World Wide Web (as indicated). Additional materials can be obtained from the lecturers or are to be found in the library.

1. General background

Week 1         Introduction to the course and terminology

This introductory lecture provides a background framework for the course in terms of the key terminology, core issues in the area of Romani studies, and the need for an interdisciplinary approach.

Week 2              The Romani community (history, culture, social and political organisation)

This lecture explains the current social predicament of Roma people from an historical perspective. It takes into consideration  that  during  the centuries  Gypsies  have  formed  an   interlope   ethnic  community   which  has  no parallel among  other  European nations. We define the "intergroup ethnic community" as a set of groups and subgroups and we will trace their evolution  within  south-eastern Europe from the Byzantine Empire until today.     

Required readings:

&Marushiakova, Elena and Vesselin Popov (2001). “Historical and ethnographic background: Gypsies, Roma and Sinti.“ In Guy, ed.  Between Past and Future: the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe. Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press, 33-53.

&Liegeois, Jean-Pierre (1994). Roma, Gypsies, Travellers. Strasbourg: Council of Europe, pp 29-42 (Ch. 2: Populations).

Optional/Recommended readings:

&Fraser, Angus (1995). The Gypsies, Oxford: Blackwell, pp.10-32 (Origins).

&Okely, Judith (1983). The Traveller – Gypsies. Cambridge: CUP, pp.1-27 (Chapter1: Historical categories and representations).

&Iliev, Ilia (1997). “Somebody like you: images of Gypsies and Yoroks among Pomaks (Bulgarian Muslims)” in Acton, Thomas (ed) Gypsy politics and Traveller identity. Hatfield:UHP, pp.54-60.

Week 3         Overview of European policy on Roma

International and European human rights instruments have had an important impact on the formulation and implementation of policies towards the Roma. This lecture emphasises on the role of the Roma in policy-making at the international as well as local levels. It pays special attention to international organisations.

Required readings:

&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.

&Liegeois, Jean-Pierre (1994). Roma, Gypsies, Travellers. Strasbourg: Council of Europe. pp 273-290 (International organisations).

Optional/Recommended readings:

&Farkas, Lilla (2003). “Will the Groom Adopt the Bride's Unwanted Child? The Race Equality Directive, Hungary and its Roma.“ Roma Rights 1-2 (2003).  http://lists.errc.org/rr_nr1-2_2003/noteb4.shtml.

&Ringold, Dena et al. (2003) Roma in an Expanding Europe. Breaking the poverty cycle.  Executive Summary. A world bank Study, June 2003.   www.worldbank.org/eca/roma.

&UNDP (2003). Avoiding the dependency Trap. The Roma in Central and Eastern Europe, UNDP.  (Summary or any of the 8 chapters)  http://roma.undp.sk.

&Klimova-Alexander, Ilona (2005). The Romani Voice in World Politics: The United Nations and Non-State Actors (Aldershot: Ashgate), Chapter 3: Romani Issues at the UN.

&European Commission (2004). The Situation of Roma in an Enlarged European Union.http://www.errc.org/db/00/E0/m000000E0.pdf.

Week 4            Anti-discrimination and educational policies and issues of racism

Education is an area that well reflects society’s attitudes and behaviour towards marginalized groups. Segregated schools, unbalanced curriculum content, biased teaching materials, teachers’ expectations and attitudes, paternalistic policies and practice, together with public opinion towards minority schooling, all contribute to maintaining the status quo and marginalisation of the Roma.  In this lecture, we will explore the management of change from exclusion and assimilation to multiculturalism and inclusion in educational practice as well as issues of racism (its forms, causes and denial) and definitions of direct and indirect discrimination and victimisation.

Required readings:

&Hancock, Ian (2000). “The Consequences of Anti-Gypsy Racism in Europe” in Other Voices. The (e)Journal of Cultural Criticism, v. 2, n.1 (February 2000), http://www.othervoices.org/2.1/hancock/roma.html.

&Laubeova, Laura (2002). “Inclusive School - Myth or Reality”. In Cahn, Claude (ed.) Roma Rights: Race, Justice and Strategies for Equality. Amsterdam- New York: IDEA. 86-95.

Optional/Recommended readings:

&The  ERRC letter to Dr. Petra Buzková of 26 March 2003.

&Liegeois, Jean-Pierre (1998). School Provision for Ethnic Minorities: The gypsy paradigm. 175-198 (Pedagogy).

&Cahn, Claude, Chirico, David, et al.(2002). “Roma in the educational systems of Central and Eastern Europe”. In Cahn, Claude (ed.) Roma Rights: Race, Justice and Strategies for Equality. Amsterdam- New York: IDEA. 71-85.

&ERRC (1999). A special remedy. Roma and schools for the mentally handicapper in the Czech Republic, (chapter 3:  Roma and schooling in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia), pp. 15-21, http://errc.org/publications/reports/.

Week 5                        The impact of European policies on Romani identities

This week we will discuss the process of contemporary transformation of Romani identities within the framework of recent European policies concerning Roma. While the practical effect of various European policies on the material, legal and social-political conditions of Roma has already been widely studied, its impact on the Romani identity formation remains largely neglected. It is, however, a very important issue, since Romani identities represent a very dynamic and complex process, the part of which are the international strategies concerning Roma. Nicolae Gheorghe’s concept of ‘ethnogenesis’, understood in a slightly altered way as a conscious attempt toward achieving for the Roma the accepted status of a politically organized, non-territorial (transnational), ethnic-national group (Gheorghe 1991: 831), will be taken as a starting point. We will examine to what extent the existing European policies facilitate Romani ‘political nationalism’, i.e. the political organization, representation and participation in political life, and to what extent they contribute to the establishment of a  common space in which people of different ethnicity could co-operate in solving their problems, without allowing the differences between them to become the predominant issue which would exclude communication. We will discuss whether in such a space, where ‘culture moves to politics’ (Gheorghe 1991: 842), political homogenization protects cultural heterogeneity or perhaps the process of ‘politicization of ethnogenesis’ leads to the abandonment of ethnic identity as a part of Romani agenda.

In other words, we will focus on whether, within the framework of European policies, Roma can be—to follow Gheorghe once again—‘a political people in the Greek sense of this term’ (Gheorghe 1994: 5), which means the members of a polity, who share political membership, and whose identity is defined in a legal, not ethnic, sense (Habermas 1992). We will then discuss whether indeed some European policies may contradict this ideal by promoting an ethnicity-based politics (Kovats 2001: 103) and whether the ideal itself is viable, taking into account the problem of  legitimation of Romani politics (i.e. whether Roma do exist ‘ethnically’ before they are politically represented) and the problem of Roma aiming at achieving  a transnational status of European nationality (Barany 2002: 269), which may require a pre-political foundation of ‘who are the Roma’.

To this end we will review the list of the components of Romani ethnicity, including ‘descent, ancestry, kinship and marriage patterns, language, social organisation, taboos, political organisation, employments and economic organisation, nomadism, codes of morality and…a particular state of mind’ (Mayall 2004: 220) to see which of them, apart of being intellectually constructed by non-Romani intellectuals, may have now become ‘politically (re)constructed’ by Romani activists to serve as instruments of Romani politics.

Required readings:

&Mayall, David (2004). Gypsy Identities 1500-2000. From Egipcyans and Moon-men to the Ethnic Romany. London and New York: Routledge. Chapter 8: Constructing the ethnic Gypsy. Themes and Approaches.

&Barany, Zoltan (2002). The East European Gypsies. Regime Change, Marginality, and Ethnopolitics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 7: The International Dimension.

Optional/Recommended readings:

&Mirga, Andrzej and Nicolae Gheorghe (1997). The Roma in the Twenty-First Century: A Policy Paper. Princeton: Project on Ethnic Relations.

&Gheorghe, Nicolae (1991). "Roma-Gypsy Ethnicity in Eastern Europe". Social Research, Vol. 58, No. 4.

&Gheorghe, Nicolae (1994). "Gaining or Loosing Together: Roma/Gypsies and the Emerging Democracies of Eastern/Central Europe". In Human Right Abuses of the Roma (Gypsies). Hearing before the Subcommittee on International Security, International Organizations and Human Rights of the Committee on Foreign Affairs House of Representatives. One Hundred Third Congress, Second Session, April 14, 1994. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

&Habermas, Juergen (1992). "Citizenship and National Identity: Some Reflections on the Future of Europe." Praxis International 12: 1.

Week 6             International human rights norms and policy formation towards in the 1990s

Human rights discourse and politics have changed the way Roma have been treated by the state.  The first attempts to use human rights discourse to achieve policy change towards the Roma date back to the 1970s, though the development towards human rights objective in policy making took on more significant pace, similarly as in other human rights issues, only during the 1990s. 

This lecture devotes attention to the shift in the context of policy towards the Roma - from defining Romani policy in terms of solving the ‘gypsy problem’ to understanding that Romani policy is an issue of human rights or ‘Roma Rights’.  International norms to which the Central and Eastern European (CEE) governments adhered enthusiastically at the beginning of the 1990s began to work in the Romani policy milieu only after significant effort was exerted on these issues by transnational organisations, human rights activists, some governments, donors and, consequently, mushrooming number of NGOs, working on Romani issues.  

Until the end of 1999, virtually all CEE governments showed hostility towards the concept of Roma Rights.  By June, 2003, at the Open Society Institute, European Commission and World Bank conference, entitled ‘Roma in the Expanding Europe’, held in Budapest, Hungary, a number of the same states showed, not only understanding of the concept of Roma Rights, but adopted the language of Roma Rights as their own - language carefully crafted by the European Roma Rights Center, a public interest law organisation, active in the field since 1996, and a number of Romani activists over the decade.    

Required readings:

&Sobotka, Eva (2004). Human Rights and Policy Formation towards Roma in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. Tel Aviv: Stephen Roth Institute.

&Petrova, Dimitrina (2002). “The Denial of Racism.“ In Cahn, Claude (ed.) Roma Rights: Race, Justice and Strategies for Equality. Amsterdam- New York: IDEA. 208-224.

& Vermeersch, Peter (2003). “EU Enlargement and Minority Rights Policies in Central Europe: Explaining Policy Shifts in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. “Jemie Special Focus, 2003, Issues 1, http://www.ecmi.de/jemie/special_1_2003.html.

Optional/Recommended readings:

&Cahn, Claude (2004). “The Names.“ Roma Rights 1, 5-6.

&Lee, Ronald (2004). “What is Roma Rights?” Roma Rights 1, 33-41.

&ERRC (2002). “In Search of a New Deal for Roma, ERRC Interview with Nicolae Gheorghe.“ In Cahn, Claude (ed.) Roma Rights: Race, Justice and Strategies for Equality. Amsterdam- New York: IDEA. 197-205.

&ERRC (2004). “Fighting for the Rights of Roma – A Productive Effort in the General Struggle for Human Rights, interview with Nicolae Gheorghe. “ Roma Rights 1, 2004, 33-41.

&Kawczynski, Rudko (1997). “The Politics of Romani Politics.“ Transition. September 1997. 24-29. http://www.geocities.com/Paris/5121/politics.htm.

&Sobotka, Eva. “Crusts from the table: Policy formation towards Roma in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. “ Roma Rights, 2001b, 6, (2-3). http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=1698.

&Sobotka, Eva (2003). “Roma, Public Policy and Ethnic Mobilisation in National and Transnational Context.” Paper presented to the 53rd Annual Conference of the Political Studies Association (University of Leicester UK, 15-17 April), http://www.psa.ac.uk/cps/2003/Eva%20Sobotka.pdf.

&Vermeersch, Peter (2001). “The Roma in domestic and international politics: an emerging voice?” Roma Rights, no. 4: 5-13. http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=1274.

&The Romani movement: what shape, what direction?, Roma Rights, no. 4 (2001). http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=1292.

Week 7             Central Europe -- case study Czech Republic (Background, Policy and Practice)

During his time in office, Vaclav Havel, the former President of the Czech Republic, stated that ‘the treatment of Roma is a litmus test of democracy.’ While under the communism regime the Roma were subjects to assimilation, 1989 brought some hopes for their integration. However, these hopes were quickly dispersed as the Roma were the first to suffer from the negative effects of a nascent market economy (unemployment, exclusion, racism as an expression of freedom of speech, etc).  Only after the emigration of Roma to Canada in 1997 and related international measures and criticism, the Czech government started to acknowledge the problem. This lecture explores in detail the role of different actors, including NGOs, in the process of policy formulation and implementation in the Czech Republic.

Required readings:

&Guy, Will (2001). “The Czech lands and Slovakia: another false down?” In Guy, ed.  Between Past and Future: the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe. Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press.  285-332.

&Powell, Chris (1997). “Razor blades amidst the velvet”   In: Acton, Thomas (ed) (1997) Gypsy politics and Traveller identity. Hatfield: UHP, pp. 90-99.

Optional/Recommended readings:

&Barany, Zoltan (2002). The East European Gypsies. Regime Change, Marginality, and Ethnopolitics. Cambridge: CUP, pp. 282-324 (State Institutions and Policies towards the Gypsies).

&Laubeova, Laura (2001). ”The Fiction of Ethnic Homogeneity: Minorities in the Czech Republic” in Bíró, A.M. and Kovats, P (eds) Diversity in Action, Budapest. LGI/OSI, pp.47-73.

&Kovats, Martin (2001). “Hungary: politics, difference and equality.” ?” In Guy, ed.  Between Past and Future: the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe. Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press. 333-350.

Week 8                        Field Research

The aim of our Saturday research is to conduct research in a chosen Romani community in the Czech Republic. Since many Roma are often partially illiterate and distrustful, it would be very difficult to conduct typical sociological research based on questionnaires or structured interviews. We will thus use the method of participant observation. We will discuss and analyze the results of the Saturday research during the class in week 8.  

Required readings:

&Wax, Rosalie (1985). Doing Fieldwork: Warnings and Advice. Chicago: Midway Reprint, pp. 15-20 (”Theoretical presupposition of fieldwork: the first and the most uncomfortable stage of fieldwork”), pp. 42-55 (”The ambiguities of fieldwork”).

Optional/Recommended readings:

&Hancock, Ian (2002). We are the Romani people. Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press, pp. 103-110 (”How to interact with Romanies: Some suggestions”).

&Okely, Judith (1999).”Writing Anthropology in Europe: an example from Gypsy research.” In Folk 41, pp. 55-75.

Week 9       Western Europe -- case study UK (Background, Policy and Practice)

The United Kingdom has had one of the most progressive race relation legislation since mid-1970s, however, the situation of the Roma and Gypsies has not started to be satisfactorily addressed until recently. The Roma in Western Europe, traditionally one of the most marginalized and excluded groups that managed to resist assimilation, seem to be more excluded though more confident than in Central Europe.

Required readings:

&Morris and Clements (1999). Gaining Ground: Law reform for Gypsies and Travellers, UH Press, pp. 59-64 and 69-71 (Over-arching issues).

&Save the Children Fund (2001). Denied a Future? Volume 2. http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/temp/scuk/cache/cmsattach/649_dafvol2.pdf. 214-220 and 283-288.

Optional/Recommended readings:

&Okely, Judith (1997). “Some political consequences of theories of Gypsy ethnicity. The place of the intellectual”. In James, Alisson et al. (eds) After Writing Culture. Epistemology and Praxis in Contemporary Anthropology. London: Routledge, pp.224-243.

&Lee, Ronald (2000). “Post-Communism Romani Migration to Canada. In Ilona Klimova and Alison Pickup (eds), Cambridge Review of International Affairs. Volume XIII/2. Spring/summer 2000, pp. 51-70.

Week 10              Eastern Europe -- case study on former Yugoslavia (Background, Policy  and Practice)

The whole region of ex-Yugoslavia underwent enormous changes at the end of the last century. The effects of these changes on different social and economic levels were numerous and affected various ethnic groups differently. This lecture focuses on the Romani ethnic minority in the region. It starts with a brief account of its situation in the united multiethnic state during socialism and goes on to explain how it was affected by the recent wars following the break-up of the multiethnic state, finishing with an overview of the current situation in individual countries.

Required readings:

&Kenrick, Donald (2001). "Former Yugoslavia: A patchwork of destinies." In Guy, ed.  Between Past and Future: the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe. Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press, 405-425.

&Reindl, Donald F. (2002). The Problems of Slovenia’s Roma. 8 March 2002. RFE/RL Balkan Report Vol.6, No.12. Reprinted by Centre for South East European Studies, SEE Security Monitor: Slovenia. http://www.csees.net/?page=news&news_id=854&country_id=7.

Optional/Recommended readings:

&ERRC (2003). Profile of One Community: A Personal Document Survey among the Romani Population of Kumanovo, Macedonia. Narrative project report of the Romani organisation Roma Community Center DROM. http://lists.errc.org/rr_nr3_2003/noteb3.shtml.

&ERRC (2004). The Non-Constituents: Rights Deprivation of Roma in Post-Genocide Bosnia and Herzegovina. Country Report Series, No. 13, February 2004. http://www.errc.org/db/00/06/m00000006.pdf.

&Center for Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe - Southeast Europe (CEDIME-SE, 2000). Minorities in Southeast Europe: Roma of Macedonia, December 2000. http://www.greekhelsinki.gr/pdf/cedime-se-macedonia-roma.doc.

&ERRC (1998). A Pleasant Fiction: The Human Rights Situation of Roma in Macedonia. Country Report Series, No. 7, July 1998. http://www.errc.org/db/00/06/m00000006.pdf.

&Foszto, Laszlo and Marian Viorel Anastasoaie (2001). “Romania: representations, public policies and political projects. “ In Guy, ed.  Between Past and Future: the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe. Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press. 351-369.

&Marushiakova, Elena and Vesselin Popov (2001). “Bulgaria: ethnic diversity – a common struggle for equality. “ In Guy, ed.  Between Past and Future: the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe. Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press. 370-388.

&Russinov, Rumyan (2002). “The Bulgarian Framework Programme for Equal Integration of Roma.“ In Cahn, Claude (ed.) Roma Rights: Race, Justice and Strategies for Equality. Amsterdam- New York: IDEA. 185-196.

Week 11             Preconditions for Romani Integration: Do Roma have where to integrate?

Considering the deepening social exclusion and marginalization of Roma in Central Europe one can expect that regardless of the ongoing globalization, European integration and improvement of economical situation in Central European countries, the “scissors” between the majority and the Roma will further open. Migration of Roma from Central European countries can be viewed as a result of Roma exclusion from society after 1989, a change that forced the Roma to the bottom of the social structure. The lecture offers an overview of the failure of Romani integration, resulting in emigration. It focuses on three main reasons for Romani emigration:

1. Degradation of the socio-economic status of members of the so-called Romani middle class; obstacles to upward mobility for children of these people; and finally, a decline in the degree of integration into particular local communities that this ‘class’ has already achieved;

2.Attitudes on the part of a certain group within the Romani minority that are characteristic of an ‘underclass’; and

3.Distrust of non-Romani institutions and organizations, which leads to disrespect of the rules and principles that are in place in those institutions and organizations.

Required readings:

&Cahn, Claude - Vermeersch, Peter (2000). „The Group Expulsion of Slovak Roma by the Belgian Government: A Case Study of the Treatment of Romani Refugees in Western Countries.” Cambridge Review of International Affairs, vol. 13, no. 2, Spring-Summer 2000, pp. 71-82.

&Massey, Douglas C (1997). “Causes of Migration.” In: Guibernau, Montserrat and Rex, John (eds)., Nationalism, Multiculturalism, and Migration. Cambridge: Policy Press. pp. 257-269.    

Optional/Recommended readings:

&Geertz, Clifford (1963). “The Integrative Revolution: Primordial Sentiments and Civil Politics in the New States.” In: Geertz, Clifford (ed.) Old Societies and New States: The Quest for Modernity in Asia and Africa. Free Press. New York, pp.107-113.

& Berghe van den, Pierre (1978). “Race and Ethnicity: A Socio-Biological Perspective.“ In: Ethnic and Racial Studies, 1/ 4, pp. 402-409. 

&Vasecka, Michal - Radicova, Iveta (2001). ”Social Exclusion and Double Marginalization of the Roma in the Slovak Republic after 1989.” In: Labor, Employment, and Social Policies in the EU Enlargement Process (eds.) Funck, Bernard - Pizzati, Lodovico, The World Bank, Washington, DC. ISBN: 0-8213-5008-0.

&Vasecka, Michal - Juraskova, Martina - Nicholson, Tom, (2003) (eds.). Cacipen pal o Roma. A Global Report on Roma in Slovakia. Bratislava: Institute for Public Affairs 2003. ISBN: 80-88935-46-6.

Week 12              Holidays

Week 13             Conclusion/Review

***The course deals with a variety of populations who are often lumped under the umbrella term Roma in both political and academic discourses. While the course emphasises the heterogeneity of Romani, Gypsy and Traveller communities (as will be explained in the introductory lectures), we do use the umbrella term here out of convenience, as a short-hand.

*This method was developed by Michael Stewart and we thank him for allowing us to use it.