[Commlist] CfP Between Cultural Appropriation and Ethnic Shifting

Call for Papers: Between Cultural Appropriation and Ethnic Shifting: The 
Entangled Histories of Romani Imitation
27-29 May 2026
Vila Lanna, Prague

Conveners: Mariana Sabino-Salazar (Institute of Ethnology, Czech Academy 
of Sciences) and Karolina Valova (Institute of Ethnology, Czech Academy 
of Sciences and the Institute of Romance Studies, Charles University)
Deadline: 1 December 2025

No payment from the authors will be required

Conference Note and Call for Papers
Struggles over identity and representation are central to the politics 
of difference in contemporary and historical contexts. Many Romani 
families and individuals have been compelled to adopt more socially 
acceptable identities in response to social pressures (for example, 
through passing). In other contexts, however, people might seek to 
reclaim once-stigmatized identities. The legitimacy of Romani identity 
has frequently been questioned, as in the case of the counterfeit 
Egyptians in seventeenth-century England, or when some scholars 
attempted to distinguish true from false Roma in search of the core of 
Romani authenticity. Drawing on and reinforcing the same discourse about 
authenticity and legitimacy, non-Romani individuals sometimes adopted 
what they perceived as markers of Romani identity and customs—sometimes 
for entertainment, as in fashion or carnivalesque masquerade, and 
sometimes as a more elaborated lifestyle choice, for example, by 
presenting themselves as exotic fortunetellers or by choosing to live as 
Gypsies as a way to reject modernity. Literature and cinema have also 
mobilized tropes related to shifts in identities and identifications: 
some characters pretend to be Gypsies, while others turn out not to be 
Romani by birth after all. Artists, Gypsylorists, and other members of 
the cultural elite not only expressed their affinity for Romani culture, 
but some also claimed to be Gypsies at heart.
Specific historical conditions play a central role in these dynamics and 
in shaping the popularity and reception of such borrowings, 
appropriations, claims, and ethno-racial shifts. In Central and Eastern 
Europe—where Romani identity continues to be the most excluded and 
despised—such processes are rare and often limited to ad hoc and 
short-lived racist imitations and ethnic cross-dressing. In many 
countries in the Western Hemisphere, on the other hand, many people 
without apparent familial connections or lived experiences claim Romani 
identity or assert past genealogical connections. Sometimes, as in 
present-day Brazil, such claims employ the language of cultural 
revitalization or draw legitimacy from communication with so-called 
Gypsy spirits (Espiritos Ciganos). With the expansion of cyberspace 
subcultures, identity performance dynamics have opened up to a new range 
of possibilities, with users self-representing as members of more exotic 
ethnic groups, sometimes using emoticons, handles, and hashtags that 
reference a Gypsy lifestyle. Some people go as far as cosplaying 
Esmeralda or other generic fortunetellers in real life.
This conference asks how individuals and groups claim, borrow, or mimic 
Romani cultural and ethnic markers, and how unequal power relations 
shape which identities are recognized as (in)authentic or 
(il)legitimate. By focusing on such processes, the conference examines 
tensions between creativity and exploitation, belonging and exclusion, 
as well as lived experience and symbolic appropriation. In doing so, the 
conference broadens the horizons of Romani studies by systematically 
analyzing the performance of identities that are not fixed but fluid, 
situational, and politically charged.
We invite scholars and researchers from anthropology, history, 
communication, media studies, cultural studies, political science, 
religious studies, sociology, literature, and other disciplines to 
submit proposals that critically analyze specific contexts and 
dimensions underlying such phenomena while generating comparative 
insights. We invite reflections on the following questions: When do 
non-Romani individuals or groups claim, borrow, or perform Romani ethnic 
and cultural markers, and how are such acts received, resisted, or 
legitimized? How are claims to Romani authenticity and demands for 
recognition negotiated across contexts? What genealogical, historical, 
or affective claims are used to justify Romani self-identification among 
people whom no Romani community or kin group recognizes as their own? 
How do such claims and counterclaims relate to systems of resource 
allocation, citizenship regimes, and the politics of recognition? 
Finally, how do these acts of imitation compare to other similar 
processes, such as racial impersonation (blackface), so-called 
trans-racialism, or the reclaiming of Indigenous and Native American 
identities (for example, pretendianism, settler self-indigenization, and 
related phenomena)?
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
Processes of ethnic reconfiguration influenced by religion, 
spirituality, and ancestry
Historical contexts and power dynamics that facilitate specific forms of 
imitation, borrowing, or identity shifts (postcoloniality, colonialism, 
modernity, etc.)
Commodification and circulation of Romani cultural markers and images in 
film, dance, music, and literature, and critical responses to them
Politics and sites of representation that allow non-Romani individuals 
to access resources and social spaces intended for Roma
Conceptual and methodological frameworks that help scholars distinguish 
between mutual exchange, creative hybridity, cultural revitalization, or 
new forms of solidarity, versus exploitative forms of cultural appropriation
Who defines what constitutes authentic and legitimate cultural 
expression, and how such claims to authenticity are tied to histories of 
racism and exclusion
Application Procedure
Proposals (maximum 250 words), accompanied by a short bio (150 words), 
should be sent to Mariana Sabino-Salazar ((sabino /at/ eu.cas.cz)) by December 
1, 2025. Notifications of acceptance will be sent in January 2026.
Practical Information
The conference will feature non-parallel panels, each consisting of 
20-minute presentations followed by discussion. English is the working 
language. The conference will be held in person to facilitate discussion 
and feedback.
Conference organizers will be able to cover accommodation for some 
participants. Applicants are invited to inform the organizers of their 
financial situation by email and specify whether they require support.
Scholars, researchers, and activists from all disciplines are encouraged 
to apply. Applications from Romani and early-career scholars are 
especially welcome.
URL of original call for papers:
https://www.romaniatlantic.cz/output/call-for-papers-between-cultural-appropriation-and-ethnic-shifting-the-entangled-histories-of-romani-imitation/ 
<https://www.romaniatlantic.cz/output/call-for-papers-between-cultural-appropriation-and-ethnic-shifting-the-entangled-histories-of-romani-imitation/?utm_source=chatgpt.com>

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