Full Description
Professor Ian F. Hancock, Gypsy, scholar, linguist, activist (although not necessarily or always in that order), has spent a good deal of his life kicking against the received opinions and dearth of opportunities that have long oppressed the Romani community. His impact upon Romani Studies has been truly remarkable, both in terms of his contributions to linguistics and Gypsy historiography and in his re-assessment of Romani identity within the Western cultural fabric. No less influential has been his personal development as a scholar and activist for his own community. Professor Hancock was the first Gypsy to attain a PhD in the UK. His book The Pariah Syndrome was the first to document the enslavement of Roma in Europe and came as a revelation to those who were accustomed to think of slavery as an institution restricted to Europe's colonies. His seminal work, We Are The Romani People (Hertfordshire, 2002), has become an established resource for teachers who wish to present the Romani self-statement to their students. Author of over three hundred research publications, esteemed teacher to generations of students, and tireless spokesman for the Romani peoples of the world, Ian Hancock has achieved much fame and even a little notoriety in his eventful life. This timely collection of Ian Hancock's selected writings is an attempt to introduce this dangerously educated and educating man through the medium of his work. Within its covers you will find some personal stories and much persuasive scholarship, heartfelt criticisms and sincere advice. A compendium of his views on Romani history, culture, language and politics, no one will agree with everything he has to say, but that has never been his expectation. The point is that his voice and others from the Romani community are now finally beginning to be heard.
Contents
1 Djabravoki 2 Family tales 3 talking back 4 the Hungarian student Valyi Istvan and the Indian connection of Romani 5 on Romani origins and identity 6 Gypsies, gadA e, languages and labels 7 Romani religion 8 the standardisation of the Romani language: an overview and some recommendations 9 the schooling of Romani americans: an overview 10 duty and beauty, possession and truth: the claim of lexical impoverishment as control 11 George Borrow's Romani 12 the concocters: creating fake Romani culture 13 Gypsy Mafia, Romani saints: the racial profiling of Romani americans 14 the 'gypsy' stereotype and the sexualisation of Romani women 15 Responses to the Porrajmos (the Romani Holocaust) 16 the consequences of anti-Gypsy racism in europe 17 our need for internal diplomatic skills
