Unity or Contiguity: Towards a New Theory of Romani Literature

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29098/crs.v3i2.87

Keywords:

Anina Ciuciu, Contiguity, French literature, Romani literary complex, Romani literature, Valérie Rodrigue

Abstract

Romani literature has an important role in challenging the predominant negative views about Roma, but its influence is lessened by the minimization of Romani cultural expressions, literature being one of them. In this paper, after a theoretical positioning of Romani literature, I show how contemporary Romani literature could expand its position of influence through a re-evaluation of what constitutes the literary canon, and by the promotion, by scholars and specialists, of a “Romani literary complex.” As a case study, I discuss here two Francophone texts, by a Roma (Anina Ciuciu) and by a non-Roma (Valérie Rodrigue), positing that, although not “literary” in the traditional sense, both of them could be considered part of an emerging Romani literary
complex that , in turn, might accelerate the institutionalization of this literature.

Author Biography

  • Ileana D. Chirila, Assistant Professor, University of New Hampshire

    Ileana D. Chirila is an Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies at the University of New Hampshire. She specializes in transcultural literatures in French, with a special focus on Sino-French literature and Romani literature in French. Her research extends to disciplines such as extreme contemporary literature, cultural studies, cosmopolitanism, multiculturalism, cultural theory, and migrant studies. She has published and has forthcoming volume chapters and articles in journals such as Contemporary French and Francophone Studies, Critical Romani
    Studies, La Francophonie en Asie-Pacifique.

Downloads

Published

06/23/2021

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2020): Exploring Romani Literature from Theory to Practice

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. 

How to Cite

Unity or Contiguity: Towards a New Theory of Romani Literature. (2021). Critical Romani Studies, 3(2), 10-23. https://doi.org/10.29098/crs.v3i2.87