Roma Voices in the German-Speaking World (New Directions in German Studies) - Hardcover

Roma Voices in the German-Speaking World is a wonderful testament to the resilience and creative spirit of the Romani people. Lorely French's book provides a remarkable account of the transformation in the literature of German-speaking Roma that has occurred as a response to the atrocities of the Holocaust. It shows how Romani authors, in particular Romani women writers through personal and literary narratives, are able to redeem vanishing memories from oblivion, while also fostering a sense of common ethnic identity. This book can truly be considered a major contribution to the fast-growing field of Romani studies. * Paola Toninato, Associate Research Fellow, School of Modern Languages and Cultures, University of Warwick, UK * At last a work that does not reduce Roma to objects of scientific interest but gives space to the literary self-expression of German-speaking Roma and makes these authentic voices heard. This impeccable literary analysis incorporates the actual results of other disciplines and leads to a new view of this still marginalized group. An important book!" * Gernot Haupt, Professor in the Department of Intercultural Education, University of Klagenfurt, Austria *

The Roma are Europe's largest minority, and yet they remain one of the most misunderstood and underrepresented. Scholarship on the Roma in German-speaking countries has focused mostly on the portrayal of "Zigeuner/Gypsies†? in literature by non-Roma and on persecution during the Nazi period. Rarely have scholars examined the actual voices of Roma to glean their perspectives on their social interactions and customs. Without such studies the Roma appear passive in the face of their long and troubled history.

With a basis in theories of intersectionality, subalternity, and cultural hybridity, Roma Voices in the German-Speaking World rectifies this image of passivity by analyzing autobiographies, folktales, and novels by Roma, thereby promoting a better understanding of the multifaceted and multifarious cultures alive today in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In documenting their voices, Roma writers unveil the large extent to which their personal lives, their social interactions with other Roma and non-Roma, and the images they project of their values and traditions are highly influenced by gender and ethnicity. Anthropological and historical studies have frequently portrayed Romani groups as displaying a patriarchal social structure with highly demarcated roles for men and women. In contrast, the significant parts that both men and women play in disseminating autobiographical, fictional, and historical narratives challenge this ubiquitous notion of largely patriarchal Romani cultures. The insights that both sexes provide on the relationship between gender and ethnicity in the context of cultural taboos, norms, and expectations unveil the complexities and diversities inherent in any minority group and its relationship to the dominant society.