Cultural politics of ethnicity

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This book explores the history of Czechoslovak linguistic and social practices towards Roma during the communist era, revealing how contemporary Czech society perceives the Romani population through inherited social, medical, and legal frameworks. It challenges the conventional views of “Gypsiness” and “Czechness” by examining how socialist discourses shaped perceptions of Roma as socially deviant. The author traces the continuity of ethnic discrimination, social deviance, and citizenship from the 1950s to the fall of communism, addressing critical questions about the socialist regime’s understanding of “Gypsiness” and its connections to citizenship, equality, and normality. The study investigates how the terms “Gypsies” and “Roma” became associated with unhealthiness and deviance in popular discourse. It also considers the implications of interpreting Roma cultural traits through non-ethnic lenses for contemporary racism and ethnic attitudes. By highlighting the historical links between modern xenophobia and the communist regime's approaches to the “Gypsy question,” the work reveals the gaps between written laws and their enforcement, exposing the complex interplay of official beliefs, policies, and public consciousness that facilitated discrimination under the guise of social welfare.