{"id":1564,"date":"2013-03-15T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-15T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/%20rroma.org\/15-03-2013-klaus-michael-bogdal-receives-european-understanding-book-prize-for-his-book-europe-invents-the-gypsies\/"},"modified":"2022-08-05T09:26:56","modified_gmt":"2022-08-05T08:26:56","slug":"15-03-2013-klaus-michael-bogdal-receives-european-understanding-book-prize-for-his-book-europe-invents-the-gypsies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/fr\/15-03-2013-klaus-michael-bogdal-receives-european-understanding-book-prize-for-his-book-europe-invents-the-gypsies\/","title":{"rendered":"15.03.2013 Klaus-Michael Bogdal receives European Understanding Book Prize for his book &#8220;Europe invents the Gypsies&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">The \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGerman literary scholar Klaus-Michael Bogdal was awarded the German Book Prize \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfor European Understanding for his work \u201cEurope invents the Gypsies\u201d (Delius \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2013). Bogdal researched the handing down of mainly derogatory stereotypes on \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRroma in literature and oral traditions, which are persisting to this day in \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe minds of many people. Bogdal researched since 1992 for this book, which \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tappeared in 2011 and the award comes at a time where there is a fierce polemic in \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGermany about the foreign Roma and their role, and where exactly the very same \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\timages that Bogdal deconstructs and condemns are being used. <\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">Bogdal \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Ebbinghaus 2013) sees clear parallels between the story of European Rroma \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\texclusion and the current debate in Germany. Even hundreds of years ago, there \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twas resentment against people coming from the East to Western Europe, people who \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twere seen as Turkish spies and endowed with numerous other stereotypes. They \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twere deemed to have a low level of civilization and seen nas the last Wild people \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof Europe. <\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">One of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe problems in the current debate is the fact that many of those involved are \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttrying to find clear answers to causes of the glaring poverty of many Roma and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthereby, while speculating about the Roma identity, reproduce the standard stereotypes. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAs a result, the game is repeated with the external and self-ascription of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tidentity, whereby in the case of Roma foreign attribution dominates. It seems, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tas Bogdal notes, as if one denies the Rroma the right to state their own \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tidentity. In his work on the representation of the Roma in the European \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tliterature, he sees not only a blatant distortion of the representation of the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRoma, but also a disfigured awareness of reality itself, which is to be criticized \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tand changed. He also criticizes the use of negative terms and images that in \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\titself are vague and contradictory, such as the terminology \u201cantiziganism\u201d. On \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe relationship between anti-Semitism and anti-gypsy attitudes, he notes that \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEuropean society found too few common points with Rroma that could be openly \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdefamed, and therefore created the image of the \u201cforeign, non-European\u201d to \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdiscriminate against them deem them outside of the law. Particularly shocking to \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBogdal, is to forget that the uncritical use of traditional prejudices on Rroma \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twas key at major turning points in history, for example during \u00a0their systematic persecution and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\textermination under the Nazis. When asked what kind of picture of the Rroma he has \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttoday, he notes pluralistically:<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>Today I don\u2019t have one anymore. The image has been dissolved in a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvariety of images of European Gypsies. It&#8217;s a good feeling to see a Finnish \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKalderash &#8211; this is a very traditional group &#8211; and it&#8217;s as good a feeling not \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tto be able to determine a lawyer with Sinti background, who has dropped his \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttraditional traits (Ebbinghaus 2013)\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">In an \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tinterview with The Time (Staas 2013), he emphasizes a hand down of prejudices against \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRroma, which ideologically legitimises the use of force against them. Rroma a lower \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tposition within the ranking of Nations: While amongst nations, \u201cterritorial, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\teconomic and cultural domination\u201d is key, the Rroma take the place of the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tundefined stranger who remains in the country, but is neither friend nor foe, a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thomeless \u201cfaceless embodiment of the Other\u201d. In relation to the development of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tprejudice, he states:<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><em>In the Middle Ages the \u201cGypsy\u201d was considered sinful per se, during the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tenlightenment as a primitive intelligence, and in the industrial age as a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tnatural being. Always seen as a threat, Rroma were assigned to the lowest \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsocial status. [&#8230;] In the early modern period, this happens in the context of \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tcontemporary peoples and nations genealogies. In the Enlightenment, science \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\trearranges mankind anew. One discovers that the Rroma have their own language \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\twhich belongs to the Sanskrit family. At the same time one explains them to be \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe descendants of the lowest and most despised Indian caste the pariahs. For \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe 20th century racism, Rroma are nothing but a \u201cinferior\u201d race. New \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tknowledge &#8211; or perceived knowledge &#8211; always has the same result: the exclusion \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof Rroma (Staas 2013).<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\">This \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdesire for knowledge on the Roma always culminates in new findings on Rroma to \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tis imposed upon them. Their poverty is criminalized and becomes a stigma. They \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tare perceived as a danger, as people in need of discipline. Not much has \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tchanged at these views, which already existed centuries ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>Quellen:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul style=\"\">\n<li>Delius, Mara (2013) \u201eDie Zigeuner\u201c, ein imagin\u00e4res Kollektiv Europas? In:\u00a0<em style=\"font-family: Arial; \">Die Welt\u00a0<\/em>vom 14.3.2013.<\/li>\n<li>Ebbinghaus, Uwe (2013) Europa erfindet die Zigeuner, um sie zu verachten. In:\u00a0<em style=\"font-family: Arial; \">Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung<\/em>\u00a0vom 13.3.2013.<\/li>\n<li>Staats, Christian (2013) Kitsch und Hass. In:\u00a0<em style=\"font-family: Arial; \">Die Zeit<\/em>\u00a0vom 28.2.2013.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The German literary scholar Klaus-Michael Bogdal was awarded the German Book Prize for European Understanding for his work \u201cEurope invents [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[597,14,15],"tags":[92,63,24,23,133],"class_list":["post-1564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-germany","category-news-eastern-europe","category-news-western-europe","tag-discrimination","tag-racism","tag-roma","tag-rroma","tag-stereotypes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1564"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12673,"href":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1564\/revisions\/12673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}