Central College’s Timothy Olin, associate professor of history, published an article in Eighteenth-Century Studies.
The article, titled “Roma on the Habsburg Frontier: ‘Nomad Swarms’ or ‘New Farmers’?” examines the role of the Roma in the borderlands separating the Habsburg and Ottoman domains — today’s Serbia and Romania.
Olin’s abstract states:
“Based on material from the Austrian State Archives and the writings of contemporary observers, the article explores the two-pronged approach to Roma (“Gypsies”) on the Habsburg frontier, particularly the Banat of Temesvár. On the one hand, officials and observers disdained the Romani presence and sought to expel or limit it.”
“On the other, the Roma were recognized as essential to the economic life of the region and thus to be assimilated and integrated into society. Both approaches reverberated into the 20th century throughout Europe. In the end, neither approach was successful as Roma themselves resisted both expulsion and assimilation.”
