Romani Slavery in Romanian History Textbooks: Between Reparations and Coloniality of Knowledge

Authors

  • Maria Luiza Medeleanu PhD candidate at Centre of Excellence in Image Study (CESI), University of Bucharest

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29098/crs.v9i1.221

Keywords:

Critical discourse analysis, Coloniality of knowledge, Decolonisation, History textbooks, Power relations, Romani Slavery, Reparative justice

Abstract

This article investigates the depiction of Romani slavery in Romanian history textbooks for years 4, 8, and 12 that were approved by Romania’s Ministry of National Education for the 2023–2024 school year. Using Teun A. van Dijk’s critical discourse analysis framework, the study examines to what extent the Romanian curriculum has been decolonised in the discipline of history or, if on the contrary, it still preserves epistemic power structures as described in Aníbal Quijano’s concept of the colonial matrix of power.

Author Biography

  • Maria Luiza Medeleanu, PhD candidate at Centre of Excellence in Image Study (CESI), University of Bucharest

    Maria Luiza Medeleanu is completing a European PhD in Cultural Studies at the Centre of Excellence in Image Study (CESI), University of Bucharest, in collaboration with the Central European University (CEU) and L’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris. Her doctoral thesis treats the Romani image in Romanian Telenovelas.

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Published

11/25/2025

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2026): Racialized Slavery in Moldavia and Wallachia: Legacies and Silences

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Maria Luiza Medeleanu

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How to Cite

Romani Slavery in Romanian History Textbooks: Between Reparations and Coloniality of Knowledge . (2025). Critical Romani Studies, 9(1), 70-90. https://doi.org/10.29098/crs.v9i1.221