ABSTRACT
In Chapter 4, we apply Jörn Rüsen’s typology of historical narratives for recognizing the various limits and options in each of the narratives concerning the history of Roma. Normalizing and pathologizing Roma are examined as stemming from pre-given cultural patterns of the dominant white culture and generating a “traditional narrative.” Attempts to focus on a particular political regime as the main driving force in segregation explore the Romani past as a univocal social destiny typical of “exemplary narrative.” Because they are limited in nuancing historical continuities, such narratives cannot recognize the long-term driving forces of racism. Despite the recent boom in “critical narratives” disclosing the simplicity of exemplary narration, these narratives, with their focus on previously unrecognized events, still do not transfer the narration concerning Roma onto the stage of systematic historical revision of the politics aimed at segregation and its contemporary echo. The last section of the chapter addresses the issues and obstacles of those who aim to remarginalize collective and individual memories of Roma in favor of ensuring the access of Roma to producing knowledge about their past.
