Romologija u procesu samoosvešćivanja
Romology In The Process Of Becoming Self-aware

Summary/Abstract: In the text, which is, in fact, written as a foreword to the book On a Horse with a Laptop in Saddlebags – An Introduction to Romological Studies by Dragoljub B. Đorđević, a romologist and sociologist of religion at the University of Niš, the au- thor establishes the concept and subject-matter of Romology, and afterwards, displays concisely its development from the 1960s up till now. Its subject of research are Roma and their life, that is, its subject is a group of people, who according to their ethnic and historical origins, social, cultural, linguistic and other characteristics and histori- cal fate and consciousness represent a single specific social community. By address- ing critically the former "results" of so-called Ciganology and Gypsology, the author makes the point with a conclusion that the research which boils down to describing and interpreting the actual state does not contribute to the improvement of the sci- ences, nor does it influence any changes in the position of Roma. The history of sci- ences, especially socio-historical ones, has proved that the "scientific field" is not a "field of pure and sacred truths". From Descartes until today, it has been known that the thought about and the researched create a division between the subject and the object. On the other hand, the change of things can be expected if a mutual trust in the scientific truth is created between researchers and Roma. That change should be in the spirit of a philosophical message, which reads: "Trust for trust, respect for respect, love for love." One of the preconditions for reaching such a goal is the abolition of monopoly on the "scientific field".

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