Julianna Beaudoin
I received my PhD in Anthropology, also fulfilling requirements in the Collaborative Graduate Program in Migration and Ethnic Relations. My research has mostly taken place in Toronto, Canada, examining Romani experiences.
I began working on Romani and human rights issues in 2002, when I unexpectedly learned about discrimination against Roma during my year abroad in Oulu, Finland. I then began to focus on how Roma experience Canadian policies and the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), as well as how they negotiate issues of representation in Canadian society, such as through news and media (including television and pop culture, specifically looking at "Gypsy" stereotypes) and other forms of ethnicity/identity depictions and relations.
My dissertation covered historical context for Romani immigration and policy in Canada (yes, Roma lived in Canada prior to the 1900s!), media representations of Romani issues and "Gypsy" stereotypes, and the growing advocacy and activist movements in the Toronto Romani community.
I believe anthropological perspectives are valuable when evaluating refugee and immigration policies as they enable us to see how people engage with such systems. Even better is when interdisciplinary work is undertaken and we collaborate across fields to gain the best perspective possible. For example, I was extremely involved with the interdisciplinary program "Migration & Ethnic Relations" at Western and through it, I was able to make connections and foster amazing relationships. I believe this kind of program is the future of successful (and useful) academia.
Miscellaneous facts:
I've lived in Finland, Germany, and Canada, and I was born in the United States. Even as a (privileged) native English speaker, applying for Canadian status was incredibly frustrating. (I'm now a dual citizen.) At least it gave me better perspective on immigration issues!
Once a year, I go down south and become a faerie (http://www.spoutwood.com/fairie-festival).
I married a Newfoundlander but I've never eaten seal.
I began working on Romani and human rights issues in 2002, when I unexpectedly learned about discrimination against Roma during my year abroad in Oulu, Finland. I then began to focus on how Roma experience Canadian policies and the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), as well as how they negotiate issues of representation in Canadian society, such as through news and media (including television and pop culture, specifically looking at "Gypsy" stereotypes) and other forms of ethnicity/identity depictions and relations.
My dissertation covered historical context for Romani immigration and policy in Canada (yes, Roma lived in Canada prior to the 1900s!), media representations of Romani issues and "Gypsy" stereotypes, and the growing advocacy and activist movements in the Toronto Romani community.
I believe anthropological perspectives are valuable when evaluating refugee and immigration policies as they enable us to see how people engage with such systems. Even better is when interdisciplinary work is undertaken and we collaborate across fields to gain the best perspective possible. For example, I was extremely involved with the interdisciplinary program "Migration & Ethnic Relations" at Western and through it, I was able to make connections and foster amazing relationships. I believe this kind of program is the future of successful (and useful) academia.
Miscellaneous facts:
I've lived in Finland, Germany, and Canada, and I was born in the United States. Even as a (privileged) native English speaker, applying for Canadian status was incredibly frustrating. (I'm now a dual citizen.) At least it gave me better perspective on immigration issues!
Once a year, I go down south and become a faerie (http://www.spoutwood.com/fairie-festival).
I married a Newfoundlander but I've never eaten seal.
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Papers by Julianna Beaudoin
Romani history and realities are raised in order to frame the main discussion of how Gypsy characters in the Buffyverse contribute to stereotypes (but also to positive character developments). This context enables a comparison with contemporary Romani depictions in various and popular media forms. Additionally, some Romani reactions to these issues are explored, demonstrating how they are affected by such popular and negative misconceptions regarding Gypsies (which are in turn reinforced by fictional representations), emphasizing the significance of continuing to critically examine racial/ethnic characters in popular entertainment mediums.
Conference Presentations by Julianna Beaudoin
This paper explores some of the ways in which uncertainty affects the diverse Romani community in Canada, especially focusing on how Romani-based advocacy is framed in reference to newcomer instability and feelings of insecurity, even among Canadian-born community members. This work draws on ethnographic fieldwork conducted over the past six years, a period in which significant policy changes have increasingly targeted Roma in Canada. Romani narratives, perspectives, and actions are emphasized as part of this paper’s aim to refocus attention on the lived experiences, reactions, and perspectives of those significantly affected by policies causing feelings of uncertainty in Canada.
In spite of such governmental and public pressures, Canadian Roma have been successful in recently creating spaces for their own voices. This includes advocacy and activism efforts, such as creating independent organizations and publically asserting demands for better representation, enabled by a mobilization of their community.
As the Canadian-Romani community is made up by diverse individuals from all backgrounds, this means their advocacy projects have not been without complications and challenges as members negotiate with each other what it means to be Romani. For example, many have different priorities regarding community needs, while others disagree with various organizational partnerships and methods. However, their continued work demonstrates new and successful forms of identity representation for Roma in Canada and abroad.
This paper explores the significance of Romani representation, based on ethnographic fieldwork, research, and collaboration with Roma in Toronto, through the argument that Romani activism and advocacy experiences are now shaping Romani identities in Canada. This discussion uses Hames-García’s conceptualization of mutually constitutive identities to demonstrate the implications for how the concept of ethnicity is understood and applied in relation to contemporary identity politics (including issues of representation and belonging), while contributing a critical analysis for the general relationship between activism and ethnicity.
This paper draws on the author’s past five years conducting ethnographic, archival, and media fieldwork research and analyses with the Romani community in Toronto to challenge the rationalizations currently used in media and public debates that ultimately serve to undermine the rights of Roma to claim refugee status in Canada. This discussion also includes the reactions of the Roma community in Canada and the critical steps they have taken to mobilize and engage with such dialogue and combat negative stereotypes.
This paper draws on the author’s past five years conducting ethnographic, archival, and media fieldwork research and analyses with the Roma community in Toronto in order to question: Why are Roma consistently framed as undeserving asylum seekers despite growing awareness of the tremendous human rights abuse they face in Europe? Furthermore, how have Roma influenced and challenged past and present Canadian immigration policies – and what might this mean when contemplating how statistics (representing particular categories grounded in historical or imagined differences) are used to reduce large dynamic realities to static schematic/legal categories? In order to explore these questions, this paper draws on theoretical and applied research by anthropologists, sociologists, and legal scholars who challenge the inevitability of identity and governance categories.
Roma, often referred to as “Gypsies”, are originally from northwest India, circa 1000AD, and are often considered a form of archetypal diaspora. Despite their rich histories and cultures, Roma are negatively stereotyped, homogenized, and exoticized; they are often used as a foil for “the other” in social, economic, and political areas. In the past and present, Roma remain the targets of persistent persecution and genocidal programs. All of these factors converge to create a dynamic intersection of hegemonic power, systematic discrimination, and varying ideologies of authenticity that illustrates why fictional Romani characters are an important academic topic to consider when studying identity processes.
BtVS initially introduces Gypsies as a one-dimensional sidenote, a convenient and predictable cursing mechanism. Yet Whedon and his writers ended up creating a dynamic and multifaceted Romani character, Jenny Calendar, who, despite reinforcing certain Gypsy myths, overall defied stereotype and contributed to a positive portrayal of Roma. As Roma are then further explored through significant flash-backs and plot arcs, their development in the Buffyverse can be interpreted as more than mere plot devices and background-building exercises. Instead, Whedon demonstrated an uncommon attention to certain aspects of Roma history and mythology, even while relying on stereotypical ethnic tropes and beliefs. This characterization was, in a way, ahead of its time, and represents a growing awareness of Roma history and people, especially as presented to mainstream TV audiences.
This presentation aims to demonstrate why Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, as particularly unique TV shows, are important areas for interdisciplinary anthropological research that can ultimately contribute to larger analyses of identity and power dynamics. Through examining the creation and impacts of fictional Romani characters, this paper illustrates the significance of historical context, language discourse, cultural materiality, and racial ideologies when discussing how ethnic groups are defined and represented in mainstream media in order to demonstrate the importance of anthropological engagement with popular television.
This process can be readily observed in immigration categories, policies, and statistics. This paper illustrates how statistical analyses of refugee claimants in Canada are incomplete without their narratives and experiences. By focusing on ethnographic research of Roma experiences within the refugee system in Toronto, we can see how their specific, varied, and contested claims illustrate the need for an overall shift in how we perceive and use immigration categories and numbers. This is not to say that numbers cannot be used, but rather that they must be contextualized within peoples’ experiences to create a more nuanced narrative. Additionally, this paper includes different refugee claim data sets and graphs to purposefully illustrate the danger in seeing numbers as neutral objects and the deficit of research focused exclusively on numbers.
By acknowledging the fluid nature of refugee-related terms, similarly assumed and “fixed” definitions that refugee concepts are founded upon are challenged, including citizenship, the nation-state, and authenticity. In particular, transnational and ethnic identity characteristics play key roles in the creation and maintenance of idealized refugee representations. It is striking that certain attributes of transnational and ethnic identities contribute to both sides of the “ideal” refugee binary: they can simultaneously reinforce and undermine the legitimacy of a refugee claim, and thus significantly impact identity in complex ways.
Romani history and realities are raised in order to frame the main discussion of how Gypsy characters in the Buffyverse contribute to stereotypes (but also to positive character developments). This context enables a comparison with contemporary Romani depictions in various and popular media forms. Additionally, some Romani reactions to these issues are explored, demonstrating how they are affected by such popular and negative misconceptions regarding Gypsies (which are in turn reinforced by fictional representations), emphasizing the significance of continuing to critically examine racial/ethnic characters in popular entertainment mediums.
This paper explores some of the ways in which uncertainty affects the diverse Romani community in Canada, especially focusing on how Romani-based advocacy is framed in reference to newcomer instability and feelings of insecurity, even among Canadian-born community members. This work draws on ethnographic fieldwork conducted over the past six years, a period in which significant policy changes have increasingly targeted Roma in Canada. Romani narratives, perspectives, and actions are emphasized as part of this paper’s aim to refocus attention on the lived experiences, reactions, and perspectives of those significantly affected by policies causing feelings of uncertainty in Canada.
In spite of such governmental and public pressures, Canadian Roma have been successful in recently creating spaces for their own voices. This includes advocacy and activism efforts, such as creating independent organizations and publically asserting demands for better representation, enabled by a mobilization of their community.
As the Canadian-Romani community is made up by diverse individuals from all backgrounds, this means their advocacy projects have not been without complications and challenges as members negotiate with each other what it means to be Romani. For example, many have different priorities regarding community needs, while others disagree with various organizational partnerships and methods. However, their continued work demonstrates new and successful forms of identity representation for Roma in Canada and abroad.
This paper explores the significance of Romani representation, based on ethnographic fieldwork, research, and collaboration with Roma in Toronto, through the argument that Romani activism and advocacy experiences are now shaping Romani identities in Canada. This discussion uses Hames-García’s conceptualization of mutually constitutive identities to demonstrate the implications for how the concept of ethnicity is understood and applied in relation to contemporary identity politics (including issues of representation and belonging), while contributing a critical analysis for the general relationship between activism and ethnicity.
This paper draws on the author’s past five years conducting ethnographic, archival, and media fieldwork research and analyses with the Romani community in Toronto to challenge the rationalizations currently used in media and public debates that ultimately serve to undermine the rights of Roma to claim refugee status in Canada. This discussion also includes the reactions of the Roma community in Canada and the critical steps they have taken to mobilize and engage with such dialogue and combat negative stereotypes.
This paper draws on the author’s past five years conducting ethnographic, archival, and media fieldwork research and analyses with the Roma community in Toronto in order to question: Why are Roma consistently framed as undeserving asylum seekers despite growing awareness of the tremendous human rights abuse they face in Europe? Furthermore, how have Roma influenced and challenged past and present Canadian immigration policies – and what might this mean when contemplating how statistics (representing particular categories grounded in historical or imagined differences) are used to reduce large dynamic realities to static schematic/legal categories? In order to explore these questions, this paper draws on theoretical and applied research by anthropologists, sociologists, and legal scholars who challenge the inevitability of identity and governance categories.
Roma, often referred to as “Gypsies”, are originally from northwest India, circa 1000AD, and are often considered a form of archetypal diaspora. Despite their rich histories and cultures, Roma are negatively stereotyped, homogenized, and exoticized; they are often used as a foil for “the other” in social, economic, and political areas. In the past and present, Roma remain the targets of persistent persecution and genocidal programs. All of these factors converge to create a dynamic intersection of hegemonic power, systematic discrimination, and varying ideologies of authenticity that illustrates why fictional Romani characters are an important academic topic to consider when studying identity processes.
BtVS initially introduces Gypsies as a one-dimensional sidenote, a convenient and predictable cursing mechanism. Yet Whedon and his writers ended up creating a dynamic and multifaceted Romani character, Jenny Calendar, who, despite reinforcing certain Gypsy myths, overall defied stereotype and contributed to a positive portrayal of Roma. As Roma are then further explored through significant flash-backs and plot arcs, their development in the Buffyverse can be interpreted as more than mere plot devices and background-building exercises. Instead, Whedon demonstrated an uncommon attention to certain aspects of Roma history and mythology, even while relying on stereotypical ethnic tropes and beliefs. This characterization was, in a way, ahead of its time, and represents a growing awareness of Roma history and people, especially as presented to mainstream TV audiences.
This presentation aims to demonstrate why Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, as particularly unique TV shows, are important areas for interdisciplinary anthropological research that can ultimately contribute to larger analyses of identity and power dynamics. Through examining the creation and impacts of fictional Romani characters, this paper illustrates the significance of historical context, language discourse, cultural materiality, and racial ideologies when discussing how ethnic groups are defined and represented in mainstream media in order to demonstrate the importance of anthropological engagement with popular television.
This process can be readily observed in immigration categories, policies, and statistics. This paper illustrates how statistical analyses of refugee claimants in Canada are incomplete without their narratives and experiences. By focusing on ethnographic research of Roma experiences within the refugee system in Toronto, we can see how their specific, varied, and contested claims illustrate the need for an overall shift in how we perceive and use immigration categories and numbers. This is not to say that numbers cannot be used, but rather that they must be contextualized within peoples’ experiences to create a more nuanced narrative. Additionally, this paper includes different refugee claim data sets and graphs to purposefully illustrate the danger in seeing numbers as neutral objects and the deficit of research focused exclusively on numbers.
By acknowledging the fluid nature of refugee-related terms, similarly assumed and “fixed” definitions that refugee concepts are founded upon are challenged, including citizenship, the nation-state, and authenticity. In particular, transnational and ethnic identity characteristics play key roles in the creation and maintenance of idealized refugee representations. It is striking that certain attributes of transnational and ethnic identities contribute to both sides of the “ideal” refugee binary: they can simultaneously reinforce and undermine the legitimacy of a refugee claim, and thus significantly impact identity in complex ways.