Roma Studies Seminar: Virtual Spaces for Imagined Communities

On October 9th, 2019, we held the first in a series of Roma Studies seminars: Roma Peoples: Between Nations and Globalism, Introducing Roma Studies to Columbia University.

The seminar series is a new initiative in partnership with the Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies.

Our seminars are drawing connections between Roma Studies, East European Studies and Global Studies, addressing topics such as mobility, stigma, displacement and the condition of the Roma people in different regions. Roma Studies has long been a neglected topic in academia, often viewed as tangential to other fields of research. By prioritizing these topics, we are bringing Roma Studies to the forefront of academia, engaging partners and allies of the Roma cause at Columbia University and in New York.

Dalen Seminar

We opened the seminar with an introduction to the Roma Peoples Project’s mission to create for the Roma, a people without a country of their own, a space to express their identities, tell their stories, explore their histories, raise awareness about their communities and connect with other Roma and friends of Roma.

The event featured a presentation by Oana Mihalache, a Fulbright Researcher at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, on “Virtual Spaces for Imagined Communities.” Opening with a case study on Roma in Kosovo and their experiences during the war, Oana presented her research on shifting norms and conceptions about who is “human” when considering humanitarian interventions throughout history, reflections on the evolution of the state, concepts of sovereignty, the theoretical framework around imagined communities, and the relevance of these concepts for the Roma condition, past and present. Oana also addressed studies of Twitter as a virtual community that transcends national borders, and we began reflecting on ways in which that paradigm can apply to the Roma people, who also are not confined by a particular space or borders. The possibility of creating digital communities beyond a geographical space could be particularly meaningful for the Roma people, helping to define a sense of community beyond a particular nation-state and to explore a global Roma identity.

Teodor Seminar

A variety of participants attended the seminar: Roma scholars and professionals, Columbia students and friends of the project from New York. Among the participants were students from Columbia’s MA in Global Thought program and a student in the Harriman Institute’s MA program in Russian, Eurasian and Eastern European Regional Studies. We were also excited to welcome Dalen Butler, a visiting scholar at the Roma Peoples Project from Michigan, who is doing archival research on Roma in the United States; Rebekah Ward, a Fellow in Columbia Journalism School’s Cross-Borders Data Project; Teodor Cristian Blidaru, Romanian Youth Delegate at the United Nations; and David Butch, part of the Roma Community Centre in Toronto.

Seminar Discussion

Participants engaged in a rich dialogue about the history and diversity of the Roma culture, including solutions to advance Roma scholarship and rights. They emphasized the importance of having Roma and non-Roma at the same table, connecting with one another and sharing knowledge and stories. Creating a space for Roma Studies led to an inaugural discussion that was fruitful, essential and timely. We look forward to our next seminar and will provide more details in the coming weeks.

Phone

(212) 851-5845

Address

406 Schermerhorn Hall, MC 5501
1190 Amsterdam Ave
New York, NY 10027
United States of America