Romani Atlantic: Transcontinental Logic of Ethno-Racial Identities (Lumina quaeruntur award by the Czech Academy of Sciences, 2022-2027)

Principal Investigator: Martin Fotta

Team Members: Mária Málková, Anna Clara Viana de Oliveira, Tina Magazzini

This project recasts Roma from ‘the largest European minority’ to a pan-Atlantic diaspora shaped by the processes and relationships that structure the globalized world. It advances our understanding of the relational nature of identity formation and social classifications. Despite the centuries-long presence of Roma in America and Africa, scholarship remains methodologically Eurocentric. Romani identities are commonly treated in isolation from global connections that shape how they view themselves and are viewed relative to other ethno-racial communities. Alternatively, the project proposes to investigate Romani identity within comparative, transnational, and intercultural frameworks. The team will conduct ethnographic and archival research in the South Atlantic and examine Romani social position in relation to other ethno-racial projects (e.g., Atlantic slavery). This will generate insights into how different racial contexts impact their belonging and interethnic interactions.

https://www.romaniatlantic.cz