Description
Book SynopsisJekatyerina 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.
Trade Review"Where the book by Jekatyerina Dunajeva differs from others is in its combination of historical and ethnographic study, in the richness of the material explored and analysed and in the ways in which it problematizes the very labels it analyses. The key strength of the book lies in its attempt to offer new and critical perspectives in the study of Roma identity and Roma ethnicity, over time. It thus provides a wonderful addition and contribution to the field of Romani Studies, while also being of interest to scholars of ethnicity, nationalism, European history and minorities more broadly." https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2022.2078390 -- Raluca Bianca Roman * Ethnic and Racial Studies *
"This is a profoundly interesting book, if also not, in its argumentation and conclusions, an especially original one. Written in an accessible style and intended for a general audience, Dunajeva’s monograph is based on a solid documentary base. Her ethnographic research in Roma communities makes the work a substantial contribution to Romani scholarship." -- Steven Usitalo * The Russian Review *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
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
References
Index
