''Self-Articulation and the history of European Integration''

9–11 November 2026 | International Academic Forum Heidelberg


The DFG Research Unit “Antigypsyism and Ambivalence in Europe (1850–1950)” invites scholars
and interested participants to its second international conference,which will take place in Heidelberg
from 9 to 11 November 2026. Under the title “Self-Articulation and European Histories of Persecution,” 
the conference explores the tension between forms of self-representation by Sinti and Roma and 
the mechanisms of persecution and exclusion that shaped European societies from the late nineteenth century 
to the mid-twentieth century.

The conference is jointly organized by Subproject 5, “Roma Journalism in the Interwar Period (1918–1939),” 
led by Prof. Dr. Iulia-Karin Patrut at the European University of Flensburg, and Subproject 6,
“Transformations of Anti-Gypsy Policing Discourse: From the ‘Racial’ Paradigm to Genocidal Practice (1850–1950),” 
led by Prof. Dr. Tanja Penter and Dr. Frank Reuter at the Research Center on Antigypsyism at Heidelberg University. 
The conference focuses on questions of journalistic, political, and cultural forms of self-articulation, counter-knowledge 
and resistance, as well as the entanglement of antigypsyist systems of knowledge with institutional power structures.
The conference program brings the perspectives of various subprojects within the DFG Research Unit into dialogue.
Discussions are structured around three thematic focal points:

  1. Media, forms, and contexts of self-articulation
  2. Processes of narrativization
  3. Knowledge production, institutionalized power relations, and forms of resistance

In addition to members of the DFG Research Unit, international guests from academia and cultural practice 
will contribute their expertise. These diverse perspectives will facilitate an interdisciplinary discussion of 
current research questions concerning the relationship between self-representation and external representation, 
while situating them within a broader scholarly and societal dialogue.

An important component of the program is an Empowerment Workshop, which will take place on 11 November 2026
following the academic panels. The workshop will be led by Radoslav Ganev and Atide Jasarova.
Its aim is to strengthen exchange between academic research, community perspectives, and support for emerging scholars.
Against the backdrop of the continuing underrepresentation of Sinti and Roma within academia, 
the workshop is particularly intended for students and early-career researchers from the community
who are currently navigating the transition between university studies and doctoral research. 
Participants in the workshop are explicitly invited to attend the conference panels and discussions beforehand.

Interested guests are warmly welcome to attend the conference.
Prior registration for the conference and/or the Empowerment Workshop
is requested via email at: s.taubert@uni-flensburg.de.

Further information and the full conference program will be announced shortly.