MF CASR lunch with Jan Selling

Secondary antigypsyism and “Schuldabwehr” in Romanian Orthodox discourses on the Roma slavery

The concept of secondary antisemitism was developed in the late 1950s by thinkers of the Frankfurt school, most prominently Theodor W. Adorno. It aimed at answering how antisemitism to such a degree could prevail in spite of Auschwitz, and concluded, in short, that a new type, a guilt-defensive antisemitism evolved because of Auschwitz. Adorno operated with a matrix of guilt complex, guilt defense and collective nationalist narcissism. In German research contexts, there have been attempts to develop an analogous theory on secondary antigypsyism. This has almost exclusively been related to the Holocaust. I argue that the concept of secondary antigypsyism has a wider explanatory power. In my research on Romanian Orthodox Church discourses on its history as a major enslaver of Roma people, I identify guilt defensive antigypsyism as a main trope. This shows structural semantic similarities with the German findings, thus validates the concept and provides empirical evidence for its applicability in contexts outside of Germany and the Holocaust.

This Lunch Talk will be held only on Zoom: https://mf-no.zoom.us/j/64105595003?pwd=S0JpdTIyT1dBcjRwTjg2YzVxdmVRQT09

Zoom Meeting ID: 641 0559 5003

Passcode: MFCASR