Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Conference: Alternative strategies of Romani mobilization, Cambridge, 5-8 April 2013‏

UACES sponsored collaborative research network "Romanis in Europe" is
now calling for papers for a panel on 'Alternative strategies of Roma
mobilization' at the 2013 BASEES/ICCEES European Congress "Europe:
Crisis and Renewal" in Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge 5-8 April 2013.

Looking at the present day socio-economic situation of Roma communities
across countries, discrimination and marginalization have proven to be
pan-European phenomena. In this context, the Europeanization of the Roma
'issue(s)' has also brought about a large research interest in aspects
of Roma trans-national and political organization. Yet, analyses of
local, contextual and non-political strategies of Roma mobilization have
remained peripheral within the literature.


We invite young and established scholars to submit their papers for a
panel that seeks to fill this research gap. Trying to move beyond the
existing discursive construction of a 'failed Roma mobilization', this
panel focuses on the 'localized' and alternative strategies of Roma
organization and integration, and look at the cases in which Roma
members themselves become agents of social change for the communities
they inhabit.

We invite papers spanning the fields of anthropology, social and
political science, religious studies, or other cognate disciplines.
Case studies and comparative analyses on the following topics are
particularly welcome, yet papers dealing with a wider range of themes
will also be considered:

- Contact as a pathway to integration: How does increased cultural
and/or economic contact between local Roma communities and local
majorities shape or alter negative stereotypes and perceptions coming
from behalf of local majorities? How are the opinions and stereotypes
coming from the Roma community in regards to non-Roma communities shaped
by increased communication between groups? What types of contact
(economic, social, cultural or other) between Roma groups and local
majorities foster greater awareness of similarities rather than differences?
- Roma artists as mediators: what role does artistic expression (i.e.
through film, documentaries, photography, and painting) play in
countering negative Roma stereotypes? How do Roma visual artists respond
to and address issues of discrimination and marginalization? What role
do they have as mediators of the ways in which the image of their Roma
'community' is promoted in the local majority community?
- Music as counter-discourse: what role does popular music play in
addressing the issues of Roma discrimination? What position do Roma
musicians take in lifting up political and social issues regarding Roma
minorities and what are their means to do so? How are collaborations
between Roma and non-Roma musicians shaping the image of local Roma
communities?
- Religion and social integration: What role does religion play in the
social and/or political mobilization of particular Roma communities?
What kind of relations is shaped between Roma and non-Roma members of
religious minorities and how do these shape the stereotypical images of
Roma?

The aim of the panel is to foster discussion across academic fields as
well as provide a medium for presenting the 'success' stories of Roma
integration and mobilization. Please submit your abstract of no more
than 250 words by 01 September 2012, including full contact details,
indicating your institutional affiliation and research interests on the
website: http://cms.computingpro.co.uk/romainclusion/

If you have any questions, please contact Raluca Bianca Roman at :
raluca@romanis.eu

For information on the UACES CRN "Romanis in Europe", please see
http://www.romanis.eu/contact/

No comments:

Post a Comment

Popular Posts