Romska pozycjonalność (positionality) – subiektywne doświadczenia Romów a dyskurs akademicki

Abstract

The field commonly known as Romani Studies has been monopolized for decades almost entirely by non-Romani researchers and, consequently, has been written from an outsider’s perspective, from the standpoint of the majority culture. However, there is currently a significant increase in the number of Romani academics who critically assess the body of research on the Roma and simultaneously lay the foundations of so-called Critical Romani Studies. This situation inevitably leads to questioning the relationship between the researcher and the researched and negotiating the position of the Romani scholar writing from a minority perspective. In this article, I discuss the potential of positionality theory and its added value for the development of Romani Studies. Referring to the scholarly achievements of representatives of other minorities or peripheral communities (or as Gayatri Spivak calls them – subalterns), I will present the challenges and opportunities faced by minority researchers in negotiating the multiple roles arising from their status as „outsiders within” (Collins 1986) and how they can be applied in Romani Studies. I conclude that the synthesis of life experience, academic education, and adherence to high standards in the research process, which many Romani scholars possess, constitutes an added value for the development of Romani Studies, enriching it with the necessary diversity of perspectives and voices.