COURSE DETAIL
Despite being subjected to intense assimilation policies and persecution, European Roma and Gypsy regularly re-emerge with a remarkable revitalizing power. Who are then the Roma and Gypsies, what does it mean from their point of view? Students learn the historical social adaptations of Roma and Gypsy groups in Europe, the United states, and Central European Roma. The course draws on the latest research topics such as Romani European migration, memory building, political mobilization, survival strategies, segregation, and racism. The course newly adopts a field-trip component that complements the lecture and seminar sessions. Students visit a contested memory site of Nazi persecution and participate at a commemoration ritual; travel to a Roma ghetto and study the contours of spatial segregation and its politics; attend a performance of the “theater of the oppressed” and discuss with Roma actors how theatric language helps them express their aspirations. This course challenges mono-causal explanations of Romani society and culture and stimulates students to think about Roma in a critical holistic way that brings into consideration the societies they live in.