Slovak Roma beyond anthropological escapism and exotic otherness. Concept of “whiteness” and the structures of everyday life
Slovak Roma beyond anthropological escapism and exotic otherness. Concept of “whiteness” and the structures of everyday life

Summary/Abstract: This paper discusses the etic construction of Slovak Roma as a homogenous group essentialised as a marginal, disconnected, uneducated and asocial “other”. The authors acknowledge the severe situation of exclusion suffered by many Roma in Slo- vakia but argue that diverse social positionalities also exist which are often ignored. Grounded in field research and ethnographic knowledge, the present paper decon- structs Roma homogeneity and tries to provide inside optics to different Roma con- ceptions. In doing so, the Roma agency is located in different fields, which opens new questions for research. Social situations which avoid the cliché of marginality make it possible to explore the existent interrelations between the overrepresentation of sup- posed Roma homogeneity and otherness and the muted existence of their counter- part – dominating non-Roma. Using methodological approaches close to whiteness studies, the authors attempt to go beyond approaches focusing on Roma as the exotic others. The role of non-Roma agency and power structures omnipresent in everyday life will be discussed as a key factor often muted in etic constructions of Roma.

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