Discrimination without Borders:Hope without Boundaries

Navigating BeyondInternational Discrimination

Lukas VojacekSilvia Schiavon

Janice Bankert-Countryman

International Discrimination

• Negative attitudes and/or actions that cross international borders

• Stigma without geographic boundaries • Issues of international discrimination guide us

to the questions:– What is going on?– What do we do?

Discussion:International Discrimination

• What do you know about the situation of the Roma in Europe and the world today?

• What are your own experiences with discrimination that crosses borders?

• What do you know – and how do you learn about – issues of international discrimination?

Roma CommunityZingari

Gipsy

Travellers

Gitanos

Kalè

SintiCigány

Pavee

Who are the Roma?

• Ethnic group who live primarily in Europe.• Origins in the northern part of the Indian

Subcontinent. • The reason for their diaspora remains unknown

(absence of written history).• Population: 6-11 millions in the world• Language: Romani, languages of native regions• Religion: Christianity (Orthodoxy, Catholicism,

Protestantism), Islam

History• 1000-1050: Groups of low-caste Indians begin migration

out of northern India toward Persia and Armenia.• 1100: Romani people recorded in the Byzantine Empire.• 1300: Romani already settled in Serbia; in the same period

they reached the Balkans where they are perceived as aliens and enslaved.

• 1400-1600: Romani recorded living in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden. – Anti-Romani law passed everywhere.

• 1936-1945: Nazis begin systematic persecution of Romani that culminated in the killing of 500,000 to 1,500,000 Romani in what is called Porajmos, the Romani Holocaust.

Present• January 2006 : The University of Manchester has completed its

“Romani project", the first morphologic study aiming to collect all the dialects of Romani language throughout Europe and dealing with their coherency.

• 2006: The first entirely Romani party has been founded in Hungary, called the "MCF Roma összefogás" (MCF Union of the Roma), although they reached only the 0,08% of total votes (from a total population registered for voting around 8 million people) at the parliamentary elections held on April 9, 2006.

• 2010: In July 2010, French President Nicolas Sarkozy began a high-profile, systematic deportation campaign against the Romani. His targets are Romanian and Bulgarian Roma.

Why Roma as an Example of International Discrimination?

• They are discriminated against everywhere.• There are strong misconceptions about this

unknown culture.• Many studies about Roma have not yet been

developed.

Break

Please take up to ten minutes to enjoy refreshments and take a break. Restrooms are located on this floor. Please see a facilitator for directions.

When we come back, we will continue to talk more about intercultural communication and international discrimination…

What is InterculturalCommunication Competence?

Intercultural Communication• Culture

– The guidelines by which we live and make decisions

• Communicating among cultures

Communication Competence• Awareness of your own

beliefs• Awareness of others’

realities• Commitment to seeking

mutual understanding• Flexibility

– How, when, and by what means we communicate

Consider the interactions that form and re-form your beliefs.

Discussion:

What is your lived experience?

• What shapes your culture? Where do you learn the “rules”?

• In what intercultural interactions do you engage?

What are your ideas about intercultural communication?• How do we achieve intercultural

communication competence? Is it important?

• How could your ideas be applied to the situation of Roma in Europe?

• How could your ideas be applied to situations of discrimination or intercultural communication in your communities?

The goal of each group is to reach consensus on each of these questions.

Creating a New Culture of Competence

• From your discussions, what guidelines could be used for communicating competently among cultures?

• How will these guidelines deconstruct international discrimination?

Break

Please take up to ten minutes to enjoy refreshments and take a break. Restrooms are located on this floor. Please see a facilitator for directions.

When we return from Break, we will summarize our discussions and create together a framework for effectively communicating across cultures…

Synthesis

Conclusion

• Furthering the discussion:– Globally– In your communities– In your social networks– In your education

Resources:Roma and Issues of Discrimination

Annual Report on Discrimination Issues in the Czech Republic. (2008, May 15). Retrieved October 08, 2010, from http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/attachments/EU-MIDIS_ROMA_CS.pdf

Appiah, K.A. and Gurmann, A. (1996) Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race. New Jersey: Princeton University Press

Dal Lago, A. (2002) Non-persone: l’esclusione dei migranti in una società globale Milano: Feltrinelli Daley, S. (2010, September 16). New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2010, from Roma, on move, test Europe's

'Open Borders': http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/17/world/europe/17roma.html?_r=1&emc=eta1Fonseca, I. (1995). Bury me standing: The Gypsies and their journey. New York, NY: Random House, Inc.Gyp. (nd). Retrieved October 11, 2010, from Dictionary.com: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gypLombroso, C. (1879) L’uomo delinquente Milano: Fratelli BoccaRomani Culture Museum. (2008). Retrieved October 9, 2010, from History of Roma:

http://www.rommuz.cz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=316&Itemid=5&lang=enSmitherman, G., & Adrianus Van Dijk, T. (1988). Discourse and Discrimination. Detroit: Wayne State University

Press.

Resources: Communication

Austin, J. A. (1975). Lecture II. In J. O. Urmson, & M. Sbisá, How to Do Things with Words (p. 15). Washington: President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Berger, P.L. and Luckmann, T. (1966) The Social Construction of Reality : A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge New York: Anchor Books

Foucalt, M. (1978). The Archaeology of Knowledge & The Discourse on Language. London: Sage Publication Ltd.Hacking, I. (1999). The Social Construction of What? Harvard University Press.Kincaid, D. L., & Figueroa, M. E. (2009). Communication for participatory development: Dialogue, action, and

change. In L. R. Frey, & K. N. Cissna (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Applied Communication Research (pp. 506-532). New York, NY: Routledge.

Patai, T. and Corral, W. H. (2005) Theory's Empire: An Anthology of Dissent New York: Columbia University PressPearce, W. B., & Pearce, K. A. (2000). Extending the theory of Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM)

through a community dialogue process. Communication Theory , 10 (4), 405-423.Pearce, W. B., & Pearce, K. A. (2001). The Public Dialogue Consortium's school-wide dialogue process: A

communication approach to develop citizenship skills and enhance school climate. Communication Theory , 11 (1), 105-123.

Pearce, W. B. (2005). The Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM). In W. B. Gudykunst (Ed.), Theorizing about Intercultural Communication (pp. 35-54). Thousand Oaks, CA.

Searle, J. (1995). The Construction of Social Reality New York: Free Press.Social constructionism. (2010, October 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:37, October 12,

2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Social_constructionism&oldid=390028726Wood, L. A., & Kroger, R. O. (2000). Doing discourse analysis: methods for studying action in talk and text.

London: Sage Publication Ltd.