Prague Center for Romani Histories
The overarching goal of the Prague Center for Romani Histories at the Faculty of Arts (Charles University, Prague) is to assert the centrality of the study of Romani histories for a comprehensive understanding of European history and contemporary societies. We aim to: (1) to promote academic research on history of Roma and Sinti, (2) to cultivate dialogue with historians, sociologists, anthropologists, philologists, and other scholars outside the field of Romani studies, with the goal of situating the study of Roma as central to rethinking European and transatlantic history, and (3) to contribute to the creation and promotion of teaching materials on Roma and Sinti history so that they become an integral part of history teaching in schools in Europe and elsewhere.
The Center aims to create a safe space where Romani and non-Romani scholars can discuss the key historical questions from a range of perspectives and approaches.
The Center builds on the activities of the Prague Forum for Romani Histories, which operated under the same leadership at the Institute of Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences from 2016 to 2024. The Center's closest partners are the Romani Studies Program at the Central European University in Budapest and Vienna, the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno, and the Institute of Ethnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee of the Center is responsible for the management, organisation, and functioning of the Center.
Kateřina Čapková
In 2016, Čapková initiated the establishment of the Prague Forum for Romani Histories at the Institute of Contemporary History, which she has directed ever since. Since January 2025, after her transfer to the Charles University, the Forum has become one of the research centers of the Faculty of Arts.
Martin Fotta
is Head of the Department of Mobility and Migration at the Institute of Ethnology, Czech Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on mobility, kinship, economic practices, and racialization. He explores the transformation of Romani identities within the historical and cultural dynamics of the Lusophone Atlantic ...
Ari Joskowicz
is Eugene Greener, Jr. Chair in Jewish Studies and Professor of Jewish Studies and History at Vanderbilt University. He has published numerous articles on the history of Jews, Roma, and the complicated relations between different minorities. His most recent book Rain of Ash: Roma, Jews, and the Holocaust (2023) won ...
Angéla Kóczé
is Chair of Romani Studies and Academic Director of the Roma Graduate Preparation Program at the Central European University in Budapest and Vienna. She is the editor and co-editor of several volumes, including The Romani Women's Movement: Struggles and Debates in Central and Eastern Europe (2019) ...
Helena Sadílková
is head of the Department of Romani Studies (Institute of Ethnology, Central European and Balkan Studies, Charles University, Prague), where she teaches Romani language and history. She is co-editor-in-chief of a Czech peer-reviewed Romani Studies journal Romano džaniben. Her main area of research is ...
Vita Zalar
is a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, focusing on the history of anti-Roma structural racism during the transition from feudalism to capitalism in the Habsburg Empire and its successor states. Her doctoral thesis, defended in December 2024, examined the punitive governance of Roma and Sinti ...
International Advisory Board
The Academic Advisory Board of the Center provides suggestions and proposals to the Executive Committee, especially in the long-term planning of the Center's activities.
Ann Ostendorf
Yasar Abu Ghosh
Rafael Buhigas Jiménez
Jan Grill
Krista Hegburg
Margareta (Magda) Matache
Eszter Varsa
Dalen Wakeley-Smith
Activities
Publications
The Prague Center for Romani Histories initiates and carries out scholarly projects, the outputs of which are mainly academic books and articles. At the same time, however, the Center advocates and participates in the publication of texts, such as memoirs, by Romani authors.
Events
The Prague Center for Romani Histories organizes annual international conferences whose main goal is to contribute to a deeper understanding of the history of Europe and the transatlantic area, taking into account the history of Roma and Sinti. Other important activities include workshops, public debates, exhibitions of Romani artists, and co-organization of commemorations of the Roma and Sinti Holocaust.
Our Partners
Our Donors
