Martin Fotta
Martin Fotta
QUALIFICATIONS
2012 Ph.D., Anthropology, Goldsmiths College, University of London
2004 M.Sc., Social Anthropology, University College London
2001 B.A., Social Sciences, University College Utrecht, Utrecht University
PRINCIPAL RESEARCH INTERESTS
War and Ethnic Minorities; Economic Anthropology; Nomadic and Peripatetic Livelihoods; Welfare State and Social Protection; Anthropology of Violence; Gender; Kinship; Race and Ethnicity; Romani Diaspora; South America (Brazil); Lusophone South Atlantic
RESEARCH PROFILE
My research currently follows two main axes. First, I examine how Romani identities have evolved within the historical and cultural dynamics of the Lusophone Atlantic, encompassing Brazil, Portugal, Angola, and Cape Verde. Concretely, through archival and ethnographic research, I examine how the racialisation of Romani people relates to other racial projects. Second, my recent work examines Romani groups in Ukraine after the 2022 Russian invasion, particularly their treatment as refugees in various European countries, with a particular focus on Czechia. More broadly, I am interested in how the situation of Ukrainian Roma compares to the situation of Roma and ethnic minorities in contexts of other wars.
For decades, I have also continued researching Calon Romanies in Brazil, focusing on their economic practices and sense of belonging. My book, From Itinerant Trade to Moneylending in the Era of Financial Inclusion (2018), is the first English-language ethnographic monograph of a Romani community in Latin America. It highlighted the intersections between informal credit systems and the global expansion of financial services.
Alongside these core areas, I remain deeply interested in the politics and ethics of ethnographic research, the craft of ethnographic writing, and evolving work conditions within academia.
Books
2018 From Itinerant Trade to Moneylending in the Era of Financial Inclusion: Households, Debts and Masculinity among Calon Gypsies of Northeast Brazil. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.
Edited Volumes and Special Issues
2024 Ethnographic Methods in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Research: Lessons from a Time of Crisis. Bristol: Bristol University Press. (co-editor Gay y Blasco, Paloma)
2023 The Cambridge Handbook for the Anthropology of Gender and Sexuality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (co-editors McCallum Cecilia – Posocco, Silvia)
2023 Romani Chronicles of COVID-19: Testimonies of Harm and Resilience. New York/Oxford: Berghahn. (co-editor Gay y Blasco, Paloma)
2023 Ciganos no Brasil: relações entre continuidade, mudança e diferença [Romanies in Brazil: Relationships of Continuity, Change and Difference]. Special Issue of Civitas - Revista de Ciências Sociais 23(1). (co-editor Campos, Juliana Miranda Soares)
2021 Rómovia v Latinskej Amerike [Romani People in Latin America]. Special Double Issue of Romano Džaniben, 28(1&2). (co-editor Sabino-Salazar, Mariana)
2019 Money from the Government in Latin America: Conditional Cash Transfer Programmes and Rural Lives. Abingdon: Routledge. (co-editor Balen, Maria Elisa)
2016 Gypsy Economy: Romani Livelihoods and Notions of Worth in the 21st Century. New York/Oxford: Berghahn Books. (co-editors Brazzabeni, Micol – Cunha, Manuela Ivone)
2016 Violence and Affective States in Contemporary Latin America. Special Issues of Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies, 25(2). (co-editors Possoco, Silvia –Smith, Frank)
2006 Rómovia a druhá svetová vojna [Roma and the Second World War]. Bratislava: Nadácia Milana Šimečku. (co-editor Vagáčová, Ingrid)
Journal Articles
2024 Romanies within the Interlocking Matrix of Racialisation: How in Brazil Ciganos Became Accused of Introducing an Infectious Disease. Romani Studies 34(1): 39–65.
2023 Ciganos no Brasil: relações entre continuidade, mudança e diferença [Romanies in Brazil: Relationships of Continuity, Change and Difference]. Civitas: Revista De Ciências Sociais 23(1), e44457. (co-author Campos, Juliana)
2023 Estudos romanis (ciganos) na América Latina e no Caribe: temas emergentes e estado do campo em Argentina, Colômbia e México [Romani Studies in Latin America and the Caribbean: Emerging Themes and State of the Field in Argentina, Colombia and Mexico]. Civitas: Revista de Ciências Sociais, 23(1), e43062. (co-author Sabino Salazar, Mariana)
2023 Ciganos as a Traditional People: Romanies and the Politics of Recognition in Brazil. Ethnopolitics, 22(2): 157-176. (co-author Dolabela, Helena)
2022 Cash Transfers. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Anthropology. (co-author Schmidt, Mario)
2021 Romistika v Latinské Americe a Karibiku: Perspektivy a výzvy [Romani Studies in Latin America and Caribbean: Perspectives and Challenges]. Romano džaniben 28(1): 5–27. (co-author Sabino Salazar, Mariana)
2020 The Figure of the Gypsy (Cigano) as a Signpost for Crises of the Social Hierarchy (Bahia, 1590s–1880s). International Review of Social History 65(2): 315–341.
2019 “Only the Dead Don’t Make the Future”: Calon Lives between Non-Gypsies and Death. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 25(3): 587–605.
2019 Non-sedentarism, Violence and Politics of Assertive Egalitarianism among Calon Gypsies of Bahia, Brazil. Ethnos 84(5): 806–827.
2017 “Money on the Street” as a Hoard: How Informal Moneylenders Remain Unbanked. Social Analysis 61(4): 98–113.
2016 “They Say He Is a Man Now”: A Tale of Fathers and Sons. Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies 25(2): 199–214.
2016 Introduction: Violence and Affective States in Contemporary Latin America. Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies 25(2): 167-177. (co-authors Posocco, Silvia – Smith, Frank)
2014 Brazilian Gypsiology: A View from Anthropology. Romani Studies 24(2): 111–136.
2012 “On ne peut plus parcourir le monde comme avant”: au-delà de la dichotomie nomadisme/sédentarité. Brésil(s). Sciences humaines et sociales 2: 11–36.
Book Chapters
2024 Introduction: Emerging Trends in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Research. In: Fotta, Martin – Gay y Blasco, Paloma (eds.): Ethnographic Methods in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Research: Lessons from a Time of Crisis. Bristol: Policy Press, pp.1–11. (co-author Gay y Blasco, Paloma)
2024 Innovation, Collaboration and Engagement: Proposals for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller-related Research. In: Fotta, Martin – Gay y Blasco, Paloma (eds.): Ethnographic Methods in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Research: Lessons from a Time of Crisis. Bristol: Policy Press, pp.15–37. (co-author Gay y Blasco, Paloma)
2024 Concluding Remarks: Methods and the Future of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller-related Research. In: Fotta, Martin – Gay y Blasco, Paloma (eds.): Ethnographic Methods in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Research: Lessons from a Time of Crisis. Bristol: Policy Press, pp.164–172. (co-author Gay y Blasco, Paloma)
2023 Introduction: Chronicles of a Tragedy Foretold. In: Gay y Blasco, Paloma – Fotta, Martin (eds.): Romani Chronicles of COVID-19: Testimonies of Harm and Resilience. New York/Oxford: Berghahn Books, pp. 1-30. (co-author Gay y Blasco, Paloma)
2023 Introduction to the Brazilian Chronicles: How Systemic Racism and Government Neglect Led to Increased Harm Suffered by Vulnerable Groups. In: Gay y Blasco, Paloma – Fotta, Martin (eds.): Romani Chronicles of COVID-19: Testimonies of Harm and Resilience. New York/Oxford: Berghahn Books, pp. 93-103. (co-authors Campos, Juliana Miranda Soares – Marques Gonçalves, Gabriela – Miklos, Aline)
2020 Gitanos Calón entre nomadismo y permanencia. In: Alvarado Solís, Neyra (ed.): Nombrar y circular, gitanos entre Europa y las Américas: innovación, creatividad y resistencia. San Luis Potosí: El Colegio de San Luis, pp. 87–104.
2019 Introduction: Rearticulations of rural lives through conditional cash transfers . In: Balen, Maria Elisa – Fotta, Martin (eds.): Money from the Government in Latin America: Conditional Cash Transfer Programmes and Rural Lives. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 1-23. (co-author Balen, Elisa Maria)
2016 Exchange, Shame and Strength among the Calon of Bahia: A Values-Based Analysis. In: Brazzabeni, Micol – Cunha, Manuela Ivone – Fotta, Martin (eds.): Gypsy Economy Romani Livelihoods and Notions of Worth in the 21st Century. New York/Oxford: Berghahn Books, pp. 201-220.
2016 Introduction. In: Brazzabeni, Micol – Cunha, Manuela Ivone – Fotta, Martin (eds.): Gypsy Economy Romani Livelihoods and Notions of Worth in the 21st Century. New York/Oxford: Berghahn Books, pp. 1–30. (co-authors Brazzabeni, Micol – Cunha, Manuela Ivone).
2007 Rómsky holokaust a európsky anticigánizmus [Roma Holocaust and European Antigypsyism]. In: Kumanová, Zuzana – Mann, Arne B. (eds.): Nepriznaný Holocaust: Rómovia v Rokoch 1939-1945. Bratislava: In Minorita, Slovenské národné múzeum a Ústav etnológie SAV, pp. 33–37.
Complete Bibliography (PDF)
Ongoing Projects and Grants
2024–2026 Unequal citizenship and transnational mobilisation of Polish, Czech, and Ukrainian Roma in the face of war in Ukraine. GACR-NCN, Weave Lead Agency Project (GACR 24-14388L). Principal Investigator of the Czech Team.
2022–2026 Romani Atlantic: Transcontinental Logic of Ethno-Racial Identities. Lumina Quaeruntur Fellowship, Czech Academy of Sciences (LQ300582201). Principal Investigator.
Past Projects and Grants
NONE
Editorial Work
2024–2026 Social Anthropology/Anthropologie Sociale, Editor
Ongoing Romano Džaniben, Editorial Board
Board Memberships
Ongoing Prague Forum for Romani Histories, Member of the Steering Committee
2017–2018 Member of the Scientific Committee of the 15th biennial conference of the European Association of Social Anthropologists
External Reviewing
Project Evaluation: Wenner Gren Foundation, Project proposal evaluation (2021–2023); ERC (Remote Expert Referee)
Book Proposal and Manuscript Evaluation: Berghahn Books; Bristol University Press; CEU Press; Indiana University Press; Karolinum; Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge
Journal Articles Manuscript Review: American Ethnologist; Anthropological Journal of European Cultures; ANUAC: Journal of Associazione Nazionale Universitaria degli Antropologi Culturali; Cargo: Journal for Cultural and Social Anthropology; Český lid; Current Anthropology; Economy and Society; Economic Anthropology; Ethnic and Racial Studies; European History Quarterly; Focaal – Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology; History and Anthropology; Irish Journal of Sociology; Journal of Social History; Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute; Journal of Gypsy Studies; Journal of Cultural Economy; Journal of Transatlantic Studies; Paideuma: Mitteilungen zur Kulturkunde; Revista de Antropologia; Religio: Revue proreligionistiku; Romano Džaniben; Romani Studies; Social Anthropology/ Anthropologie Sociale; Social Inclusion; Slovenský Národopis; S.I.M.O.N. - Shoah: Intervention. Methods. Documentation; Sociologický časopis-Czech Sociological Review; Vibrant: Virtual Brazilian Anthropology
Doctoral Thesis Examination: Faculty of Humanities, Charles University; Postgraduate Program in Law, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; Postgraduate Program in Anthropology, Federal University of Minas Gerais
Invited Talks, Public Lectures or Roundtables
2023 June, 10. Closing roundtable – On the Precarity of Our Disciplines: Possible Ways Forward. SIEF2023 16th Congress, Brno, Czechia. (co-panelists Brković, Čarna – Norum, Roger – Saraiva, Clara)
April, 3. Romanies of the South Atlantic: Cigano (Gypsy) circulation between Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde and Angola (XVII and XVIII c.), Forum Frühe Neuzeit, HistorischesSeminar, University of Zurich
2022 January, 21. Relational Racialisation of Romanies across the Lusophone South Atlantic. Mobilités et contacts dans les mondes romani, EHESS, Paris
2020 January, 25. Princíp domácnosti a námedzná práca: O ekonomickej integrácii Calónov v Brazílii a o možnostiach komparatívnej analýzy [Householding Principle and Waged Labour: On the Economic Integration of the Calon in Brazil and the Possibilities of Comparative Analysis]. Ladislav Holý Lecture, Invited annual lecture of the Czech Association for Social Anthropology, Prague
2017 March, 31. Vivendo no presente: como as trocas entre os Ciganos Calon da Bahia multiplicam eventos [Living in the Present: How Exchanges between the Calon Gypsies of Bahia bring about a multiplication of events. Núcleo de Pesquisas em Cultura e Economia (NuCEC), UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Conference and Workshop Organisation
2024 October, 16. Excluded in Exile: Supporting Romani Refugees in Times of Crisis. Conference, Vila Lanna, Prague. (co-organiser Hajská, Markéta)
2023 October, 6–8. Solidarity. 7th Biennial Conference of the Czech Association of Social Anthropologists, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University Prague. (co-organisers Grygar, Jakub – Zandlová, Markéta – Stehlíková, Barbora – Hrůzová Průchová, Andrea – Hrešanová, Ema – Testa, Alessandro – Lehečka, Michal)
2021 June, 22. Romani Studies in the Age of Covid-19: Ethics, Methods, Engagement and the Future. Workshop, Online. (co-convenor Gay y Blasco, Paloma)
2013 November, 28–29. Lost in Things. Questioning Functions and Meanings of the Material World. Conference, Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (co-organisers Hahn, Hans Peter – Stockhammer, Philipp W.)
2012 September, 20–23. The Two Sides of the Coin: Gypsy Economies between the State and the Market. Exploratory Workshop of the European Science Foundation (EW11-231). (co-organisers Brazzabeni, Micol – Hrustič, Tomáš)
