Interdisciplinary Studies in Antigypsyism
Book series initiated by the Research Centre on Antigypsyism
Interdisciplinary Studies in Antigypsyism offers insights into a young and dynamic research field that calls for different methodological approaches. Both acclaimed scholars and junior researchers have the opportunity to publish new research findings in English or German. The aim of the series is to firmly anchor antigypsyism studies in the academic discourse and to establish a network of institutions and scholars. In short, it serves as a source of impetus for further research.
As the first specialized institution of its kind, the Research Centre on Antigypsyism has been based at the at Heidelberg University’s Department of History since July 2017, its long-term funding provided by the State of Baden-Württemberg. The researchers working at the Centre examine the diverse manifestations of antigypsyism, which is understood as a specific form of racism against Sinti, Roma and other groups or individuals stigmatized as “gypsies”. The focus of our research interest is directed towards the mechanisms of antigypsy stereotyping and its different functions in European societies from the early modern period to the present day.
Interdisciplinary Studies in Antigypsyism offers insights into a young and dynamic research field that calls for different methodological approaches. Both acclaimed scholars and junior researchers have the opportunity to publish new research findings in English or German. The aim of the series is to firmly anchor antigypsyism studies in the academic discourse and to establish a network of institutions and scholars. In short, it serves as a source of impetus for further research.
As the first specialized institution of its kind, the Research Centre on Antigypsyism has been based at the at Heidelberg University’s Department of History since July 2017, its long-term funding provided by the State of Baden-Württemberg. The researchers working at the Centre examine the diverse manifestations of antigypsyism, which is understood as a specific form of racism against Sinti, Roma and other groups or individuals stigmatized as “gypsies”. The focus of our research interest is directed towards the mechanisms of antigypsy stereotyping and its different functions in European societies from the early modern period to the present day.
Interdisciplinary Studies in Antigypsyism
Book series initiated by the Research Centre on Antigypsyism
Series editors
- Prof. Dr. Tanja Penter, Heidelberg
- Dr. Frank Reuter, Heidelberg
- Daniela Gress, M.A., Heidelberg
The series was co-founded by Prof. Dr. Edgar Wolfrum.
Published so far
Antiziganismus im baden-württembergischen Staatsapparat 1945–1970
Even after 1945, Sinti and Roma were confronted with marginalisation and discrimination, as antigypsyist prejudice structures continued to guide action, especially at state level. This study examines the state apparatus in Baden-Württemberg and its minority policy up to the 1970s, addressing three main topics (compensation, legislation and the legal punishment of National Socialist crimes of violence). The focus is on how the authorities dealt with the survivors of the Sinti and Roma and their perspective on their experiences of state persecution and extermination under National Socialism.
„Stets korrekt und human“: Der Umgang der westdeutschen Justiz mit dem NS-Völkermord an den Sinti und Roma
This book deals with a neglected area of the judicial reappraisal of the Nazi regime: the handling of the crimes against the Central and Eastern European Roma minority in West German NSG trials. It provides a comprehensive insight and overview, informs about the legal prerequisites of the West German judicial special path, and presents the course of proceedings and the roles of the defendants, witnesses and judicial personnel for a number of proceedings. The focus is on the joint trial on the “Zigeunerkomplex” (“Gypsy Complex”, 1958–1970), which was planned as a major trial alongside the first Auschwitz trial and which, contrary to its goal, had little impact and is now forgotten.
The ‘White’ Mask and the ‘Gypsy’ Mask in Film
The study ventures into a topic that has been so far largely neglected in film studies: the ‘gypsy’ phantasm on the big screen. It reconstructs the history of ‘gypsy’ representations in film since the birth of the medium providing a systematic film-theoretical analysis of their aesthetic and social functions. Based on a corpus of over 150 works from European and US cinema, it is shown that ‘gypsy’-themed feature films share the pattern of an ‘ethno-racial’ masquerade, irrespective of the place and time of their origin. The author thus expands the research, concentrated until now in the field of literature, with another art form, film, opening up new dimensions of (popular) cultural antigypsyism.
Visuelle Dimensionen des Antiziganismus
Visual media have played a key role in the genesis of antigypsyism since the early modern period. This interdisciplinary anthology examines the central motifs and semantics of "Gypsy" images in various forms of representation such as literature, visual art, photography, postcards, opera, theatre, comics, film and computer games. Particular attention is paid to connecting lines and interrelationships. The contributions uncover the content-related, temporal, geographical and media-specific manifestations of one of the most powerful stereotypes in European cultural history. To this day, antigypsyist imaginations have a negative impact on the positioning of Sinti and Roma in European societies.
Patterns of Symbolic Violence: The Motif of ‘Gypsy’ Child-theft across Visual Media
Drawing on a number of paradigmatic works of art, the book explores the motif of ‘gypsy’ child-theft and its visualisations. The analytical focus is on the colour coding of bodies in texts and images and their racialised/anti-gypsy uses. Offering a comprehensive survey of the motif’s adaptations to different visual media, the author elaborates on its multiple layers of meaning and functions. The analysis starts with a critical review of Cervantes’ tale “La gitanilla”, moving through seventeenth-century Dutch history painting to take a cursory look at nineteenth-century printed images, and end up with an annotated filmography of 49 cinematic works.
