A book forum on Romani Chronicles of COVID-19, edited by M. Fotta and P. Gay y Blasco.

The innovative volume titled Romani Chronicles of COVID-19: Testimonies of Harm and Resilience (Berghahn, 2023), edited by Martin Fotta from the Department of Mobility and Migration and Paloma Gay y Blasco (St. Andrews), has been featured in a special book forum on Somatosphere. Somatosphere is a vibrant online platform that highlights the intersections of medical anthropology, medical sociology, the history of science and medicine, science and technology studies (STS), and cultural psychiatry.

The book forum offers a timely, vibrant, multi-perspective conversation rooted in anthropology and critical Romani studies. It has been co-edited by Jean Segata from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and Carol Silverman from the University of Oregon and includes review essays by Éric Fassin (Université Paris 8), Jessica Nunes (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul), Daniela Mosaad Pěničková (Czech health initiatives), Angéla Kóczé (Central European University), and Colin Clark (University of the West of Scotland). These essays explore themes including antigypsyism, institutional marginalisation, and racial capitalism. It is concluded by a detailed response from Martin Fotta and Paloma Gay y Blasco.

The book forum can be accessed here: https://somatosphere.net/series/series-name/romani-chronicles-of-covid-19

Martin Fotta’s research on the Romani resilience in the aftermath of the pandemics been supported by the NPO ‘Systemic Risk Institute’ no. LX22NPO5101, funded by European Union – Next Generation EU (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, NPO: EXCELES).

Photo: Ministry of Health intervention team, antibodies pilot testing, Janovce, Slovakia, December 2020. Photo courtesy of Zdravé Regióny (Healthy Regions, https://www.zdraveregiony.eu)