Talk: Forbidden Culture - Forbidden People

The talk examines examples of how Romani life and cultural expression have been forbidden throughout history - through the Swedish vagrancy law, expulsion of Roma, church exclusion, bans on flamenco and fortune-telling. These examples illustrate how persecution and exclusion of Roma have manifested, and how traces of the Romani minority's existence have been restricted, made invisible, or portrayed as a threat to society.

In 1560, Archbishop Laurentius Petri wrote a letter to a priest who had baptized a Romani child: "I am surprised and angry at your action, since I have so often warned you not to deal with that evil people." Throughout history, bans have taken the form of laws, norms, and discourse about Roma as "the other" - a discourse that laid the foundation for brutal assimilation policies including forced sterilization and, in its extreme form, slavery and the Holocaust.

The talk also discusses what consequences bans on a minority's cultural expression can have for society, and what is forbidden today.

The event is organized by RIKC (Romani Information and Knowledge Centre) and is part of Forbidden Culture Week. Wednesday, 14 October, 5-6:30 pm, Hall C. Free admission, no registration required.