Constructing Identities over Time: "Bad Gypsies" and "Good Roma" in Russia and Hungary

240 Pages·2022·1.973 MB·English

by  Jekatyerina Dunajeva

Critical Romani Studies Book Series Critical Romani Studies Book Series
CRS
“ C Constructing
Constructing Identities over Time is a ground-breaking book both in its breadth and depth.
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Jekatyerina Dunajeva boldly compares the construction of Romani identities in Hungary and n
Russia from the vantage point of both states/institutions and communities. Her thorough s
t Identities over Time
historical research on socialism/postsocialism in two locations show how Roma have strat- r
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egized around stereotypical labeling embedded in multiple exclusions. Combining political
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theory with fine-grained ethnographic fieldwork, Dunajeva takes us inside school classrooms, t
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playgrounds and lunchrooms, and into NGOs and community life, while always honestly re- n “Bad Gypsies” and “Good Roma” in Russia and Hungary
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flecting on her own positionality. This book should be required reading for all students and
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scholars of Eastern Europe.” d
Jekatyerina Dunajeva
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Carol Silverman, Professor of Anthropology and Folklore, University of Oregon n
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“An important contribution to the study of politics and the lived experience of identity on the t
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margins. Dunajeva weaves together impressive historical and empirical research of Romani
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communities in Hungary and Russia to teach us about nationhood, state power, and the ne-
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gotiation of belonging. This is a must-read book for students, policy-makers, and activists in- v
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terested in how identities are shaped and sharpened in schools and why patterns of Roma mar-
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ginalization persist.” T
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Karrie J. Koesel, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame m
e
“
Jekatyerina Dunajeva’s very important book provides an excellent and unique historical anal-
ysis of ethnic stereotypes developed and mobilized through formal and informal education-
J
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al institutions. While educational oppression of theRoma population has received consider-
k
able attention, few studies provide a rich historical background and tackle the way education a
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shapes and distorts identities. Dunajeva’s research fills this gap by exposing the role of educa-
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tion in the creation of the ‘other’. A great contribution to the field that still shies away from e
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combining historical analysis with contemporary narrative and inductive methodology.” i
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Joanna Kostka, Lecturer in Social Work, Lancaster University a

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About the Author a
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Jekatyerina Dunajeva is Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science, Pázmány e
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Péter Catholic University in Budapest, Hungary. a
ISBN 978-963-386-415-9 90000 >
CENTRAL EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY PRESS
BUDAPEST – VIENNA – NEW YORK
Sales and information: [email protected]
Website: http://www.ceupress.com
Constructing
Identities over Time
Critical Constructing
ROMANI Identities over Time
Studies
“Bad Gypsies” and “Good Roma” in Russia and Hungary
Jekatyerina Dunajeva
Book Series
Series Editors
Angéla Kóczé
Central European University
Márton Rövid
Central European University
Editorial Board
Colin Clark
University of the West of Scotland
Margareta Matache
Harvard University
Jan Selling
Södertörn University
Annabel Tremlett
University of Portsmouth
This book series aims to bring together
emerging new interdisciplinary scholar-
ship by Romani and non-Romani criti-
cal scholars within and outside of Romani
Studies. The series galvanizes cross-dia-
logues between various regions, disci-
plines, ideas, approaches, and methodol-
ogies to expand the spatial-temporal and
conceptual realm of critical Romani Stud-
ies. The book series critically examines the
intersectional racialization of Roma as
well as different forms of deep-rooted pat-
terns of structural racial/classed/gendered
exclusions, oppressions, and inequalities.
Constructing
Identities over Time
“Bad Gypsies” and “Good Roma” in Russia and Hungary
Jekatyerina Dunajeva
Central European University Press
Budapest–Vienna–New York
© 2021 Jekatyerina Dunajeva
Published in 2021 by
Central European University Press
Nádor utca 9, H-1051 Budapest, Hungary
Tel: [phone] or 327-3000
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ceupress.com
Cover and book design by Sebastian Stachowski
Cover illustration by Dorina Major
An electronic version of this book is freely available thanks to the libraries supporting CEU Press’s
Opening the Future initiative. More information and links to the Open Access version can be found
at ceup.openingthefuture.net.
This work is licensed under
a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
isbn 978-963-386-415-9 (hardback)
isbn 978-963-386-416-6 (ebook)
issn 2786-2925
A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
For Verny and Sasha

Contents
List of Tables ix
Acknowledgments xi
Part I
Introduction
Chapter 1
Author’s Purpose 3
Personal Note 3
Roma and Romani Studies 8
Notes on Methodology 11
Structure and Subject of the Book 15
Chapter 2
Theories and Concepts—State, Nation, and Identity 21
Homogenization Efforts During State and Nation Building 21
Managing the Population and Classifying Identities 26
Comparative and Historical Study: Roma in Hungary and Russia throughout Time 30
Part II
Bad Gypsies and Good Roma in Historical Perspective
Chapter 3
Early Nation and State Building in Empires 37
Early State and Nation Building: Control over the “Other” 37
Enduring “Backwardness” 51
Chapter 4
The End of Empires 55
The End of Empires: World War One and the 1917 Revolution 56
Soviet Nativization Policies in the 1920s and ’30s 60
Hungary After the Treaty of Trianon 73
A Note on the Holocaust 80
Chapter 5
State Socialism (1945–1989) 83
Assimilationist Campaigns 84
Political Education in State-Socialist Schools 92
Categorization of Roma: Legacies of Socialist Identity Politics and Critical Voices 96
Part III
Contemporary Identity Formation
Chapter 6
Fieldwork 103
Fieldwork and Positionality 103
Ethnography: Ethics, Reflexivity, and Positionality 107
Chapter 7
“Bad Gypsies”—Negotiation of Identities in Primary Schools 113
Neo-Modern State Building: National Revival and Patriotic Youth 114
Bad Gypsies in Segregated Schools 119
Disciplining Bad Gypsies in Classrooms 130
Reproducing and Contesting Stereotypes 138
Chapter 8
Making Good Roma from Bad Gypsies 145
Contemporary Antigypsyism 146
Pro-Roma Civil Society’s Roots, Goals, and Projects 149
Negotiation of Identity and Non-state Actors 152
Chapter 9
Negotiating Identity 163
Identity Struggles 164
Identity and Belonging 169
Kinship and Community 175
Part IV
Concluding Remarks
Chapter 10
Summary and Best Practices 187
Best Practices 189
References 197
Index 217
List of Tables
Table 1 Phases of State Building 23
Table 2 Subgroups and Number of Roma in Russia and Hungary 31
Table 3 Actors in Russia and Hungary in Comparison 33
Table 4 What Does it Mean to be “Gypsy”? 167
ix