Tuesday 2 October 2012, 6.30pm
Venue: The Wiener Library, 29 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DP Admission: Free
Across Europe, Roma and Gypsies are suffering increasing intolerance and hostility. The social and economic shifts of the last thirty years, the resurgence of populist politics, and a noticeable increase in inter-ethnic violence and hate crimes has shaped the political debate regarding Roma. They have become a target population for ‘ordinary citizens’ who need an outlet on which to pin their fears and frustrations.
At this Hurst book launch, Editor Michael Stewart discusses how to reset the agenda for thinking about Europe’s largest minority, analysing not only the challenges a liberal, tolerant politics confronts but also suggesting ways of acting against the new xenophobia. The talk will be followed by questions from the audience.
Stewart is a social anthropologist who teaches at UCL and has published extensively on Romany populations in Eastern Europe in the past and present. He is the author of The Time of the Gypsies (1987), Co-Editor of ‘The Lilies of the Field: Marginal People Who Live for the Moment’ (1988) and of ‘Des Tsiganes en Europe’ (2010) as well as a number of articles on the Nazi treatment of the Roma & Sinti. He is also currently Artistic Director of UCL’s Open City Docs Fest.