Brian Belton's powerfully original book examines Gypsy lives against the framework of social theories that illustrate how identity arises out of the cultural complexity of individual biographies, families, and communities. Addressing the lack of contextual and social perspectives in the existing literature and the underlying assumption of a consistent Gypsy lineage, he explores the subject of identity to include the broader social context in which the population exists. He argues that Gypsy identity is created and maintained not only by tradition and heredity, but also by social and ideological factors that give rise to the "ethnic narrative" of Gypsy identity. Growing up in an English Gypsy family, Belton offers a unique "outsider-insider" perspective to Questioning Gypsy Identity, writing what are essentially stories of people--how they are made, their social force, and what they collectively create.

'The Damned Fraternitie': Constructing Gypsy Identity in Early Modern England, 1500–1700 examines the construction of gypsy identity in England between the early sixteenth century and the end of the seventeenth century. Drawing upon previous historiography, a wealth of printed primary sources (including government documents, pamphlets, rogue literature, and plays), and archival material (quarter sessions and assize cases, parish records and constables's accounts), the book argues that the construction of gypsy identity was part of a wider discourse concerning the increasing vagabond population, and was further informed by the religious reformations and political insecurities of the time. The developing narrative of a fraternity of dangerous vagrants resulted in the gypsy population being designated as a special category of rogues and vagabonds by both the state and popular culture. The alleged Egyptian origin of the group and the practice of fortune-telling by palmistry contributed elements of the exotic, which contributed to the concept of the mysterious alien. However, as this book reveals, a close examination of the first gypsies that are known by name shows that they were more likely Scottish and English vagrants, employing the ambiguous and mysterious reputation of the newly emerging category of gypsy. This challenges the theory that sixteenth-century gypsies were migrants from India and/or early predecessors to the later Roma population, as proposed by nineteenth-century gypsiologists. The book argues that the fluid identity of gypsies, whose origins and ethnicity were (and still are) ambiguous, allowed for the group to become a prime candidate for the 'other', thus a useful tool for reinforcing the parameters of orthodox social behaviour.

In this book Kalwant Bhopal and Martin Myers offer an account of the formation of Gypsy identities. Providing such an account for any social group is never straightforward, but there is a still wider scope for misunderstanding when considering Gypsy culture. For although Gypsies are recognisable figures within both rural and urban landscapes, the representations that are made of them tend to reflect an imaginary idea of the Gypsy which, in general, is configured from a non-Gypsy perspective. There appears to be little knowledge of or interest in the history and culture of Gypsy communities; th

Gypsies have lived in England since the early sixteenth century, yet considerable confusion and disagreement remain over the precise identity of the group. The question 'Who are the Gypsies?' is still asked and the debates about the positioning and permanence of the boundary between Gypsy and non-Gypsy are contested as fiercely today as at any time before. This study locates these debates in their historical perspective, tracing the origins and reproduction of the various ways of defining and representing the Gypsy from the early sixteenth century to the present day. Starting with a consideration of the early modern description of Gypsies as Egyptians, land pirates and vagabonds, the volume goes on to examine the racial classification of the nineteenth century and the emergence of the ethnic Gypsy in the twentieth century. The book closes with an exploration of the long-lasting image of the group as vagrant and parasitic nuisances which spans the whole period from 1500 to 2000.

Race and Identity in D. H. Lawrence is a wide-ranging examination of Lawrence's adoption and adaptation of stereotypes about minorities, with a focus on three particular 'racial' groups. This book explores societal attitudes in England, Europe, and the United States and Lawrence's utilization of cultural norms to explore his own identity.

Diasporas, Cultures and Identities brings together a range of original research papers from Ethnic and Racial Studies that are concerned with the question of the role of diasporic ties and the social, cultural and political processes that are engendered by the changing experiences of these communities. Chapters cover a range of geopolitical and empirical contexts and serve to highlight the diverse theoretical and empirical questions that have become an integral part of the study of race and ethnicity in the contemporary environment. The study of the role of diasporas in modern societies has proceeded apace over the past two decades. Although the role of diasporic communities has been the subject of historical reflection for some time, it is only now that the concept of diaspora has become a core theme in the social sciences and humanities. We have seen an ongoing discussion about notions such as diaspora, transnationalism and cosmopolitanism and their appropriateness as conceptual frames of reference for analyzing the diverse experiences of communities that have become dispersed across the globe. This collection makes an important contribution to this body of scholarship and research. This book was originally published as a special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies.

While a growing number of popular and scholarly works focus on Asian Americans, most are devoted to the experiences of larger groups such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Indian Americans. As the field grows, there is a pressing need to understand the smaller and more recent immigrant communities. Emerging Voices fills this gap with its unique and compelling discussion of underrepresented groups, including Burmese, Indonesian, Mong, Hmong, Nepalese, Romani, Tibetan, and Thai Americans. Unlike the earlier and larger groups of Asian immigrants to America, many of whom made the choice to emigrate to seek better economic opportunities, many of the groups discussed in this volume fled war or political persecution in their homeland. Forced to make drastic transitions in America with little physical or psychological preparation, questions of “why am I here,” “who am I,” and “why am I discriminated against,” remain at the heart of their post-emigration experiences. Bringing together eminent scholars from a variety of disciplines, this collection considers a wide range of themes, including assimilation and adaptation, immigration patterns, community, education, ethnicity, economics, family, gender, marriage, religion, sexuality, and work.