argue pro and con if the Roma culture is a traditional one, or why it is not. Also discuss what category(s) of subsistence pattern(s) would characterize their lifestyle, and why.

By /

ASSIGNMENT #3:  TRADITIONAL CULTURE TERM PAPER – 100 pts.

Roma people  
Roma caravan wagon  

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Is the Roma/Romani Culture a “Traditional Culture”?

DESCRIPTION and INSTRUCTIONS

  • The Assignment.  In a 5-10 page paper (whatever gets the job done), argue pro and con if the Roma culture is a traditional one, or why it is not.  Also discuss what category(s) of subsistence pattern(s)would characterize their lifestyle, and why.

How to Do It.

  • Apply the characteristic features of a “traditional culture” (listed in the Section Two PPT) in your pro and con arguments.
    • Argue what subsistence pattern(s)—foraging, pastoralism, horticulture or agriculture—could be applied to the Roma, and explain why.
    • What Roma Culture Group(s) to Evaluate.  Your choice:
      • the Roma in general or a particular group.
      • the Roma in a specific historic time or place (region, country, or locale).
      • the Roma involved in a particular social or political issue in a specific place.
      • NOTE:  “Roma” is a general term referring to a widely diverse group of people so it may be easier if a specific group at a particular time and place, or a social-political issue is selected.
  • Do preliminary research to decide which of the many Roma peoples and/orone of their many challenging situationsmay be interest to you.
  • Research.  In addition to reading Chapter 11: The Roma: Romanipe, Rights, and the Road Ahead in Holly Peters-Golden Culture Sketchestext, you are also required to conduct research on the Roma and use a minimum of threeoutside academic references.
    • Academic/Scholarly References.  Journal articles or books written by scholars which can be found in the library’s databases (more info below under How to Find Academic/Scholarly Materials).
    • What to Research.Background Information on the historical origins and migration of the group, its social organization, lifestyle and culture, beliefs and practices, language, etc.

FORMAT [Required]

  • Font, Line Spacing, Margins, Page Number, Paragraphs
    • FONT:  Calibri font 14 pt. size
    • LINE SPACING:  1.15
    • MARGINS:  .8 margins all around.
    • PAGE NUMBER:  Bottom right
    • PARAGRAPHS:  Indent 5 spaces to indicate a new paragraph (instead of doing a double-space with no paragraph indent).
  • Identification and Title – Location and Line Spacing
    • Identification: In the upper right corner:  NAME, COURSE NUMBER& ASSIGNMENT, DATE, single spaced (1.0).
    • Title:  Two spaces down after the date, centered.
    • Text:  Begin essay two spaces down after the title in 1.15 line spacing.
    • Example:

Hermione Granger

Anth 304-52 Roma Essay

May 9, 2022

The Roma in Italy:  A Non-Traditional Culture

      The over 150,000 Roma in Italy are one of the many Romani groups who migrated out of India sometime around the 6th c.  …

      Most Italian Romani are Christians, having acquired the dominant faith of their adopted homeland. …

      Based on their current lifeways in Italy, the Roma practice a non-traditional culture for the following reasons.  …

WRITING STYLE[required]

  • Formal Academic Style.  Write in the third person(i.e., NO “I”, “me”, “my”, “you”, “our”, etc.)
  • Write succinctly.  Write tightly with economy, without repetition and extraneous verbiage.
  • Organizethe structureof your paper and the logic flow of your arguments to make your case convincing.
    • Suggestion:OUTLINE your paper before you begin to organize it for logic.
    • Suggestion:prepare a ROUGH DRAFTahead of time to have someone read it for clarity, logic, and grammar.

REFERENCE CITATIONS[required]

  • Citations.Throughout the body of your paper, cite in parenthesis the sources for any ideas that are not your own.  This includes not only direct quotes butany information or ideas you have paraphrased from sources other than your own.
    • Citation Style and Format.  Use the American Anthropology Association’s (AAA) style guide. In the essay context, cite the author and publication date for information and ideas.Example:  to cite info or concepts from a book by Joe Smith published in 2009, the citation would be (Smith 2009). For a direct quote, cite the author, page, and publication date: (Smith 2009:52).
    • Refer to the AAA Style Citation Guidein the ASSIGNMENT SECTION for citation formats for direct quotes, block quotes, multiple authors, Website sources, etc.  It is located in the ASSIGNMENTS section.

REFERENCES CITED[required]

  • On a separate page, place the title References Cited and two spaces down, begin listing the references that have been cited in the paper.
  • List the references using single space and in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, separated by a line space.  Examples:

Bennet, Tony

1995     The Birth of the Museum: History, Theory, Politics. London:

               Routledge Publications.

         Peters-Golden, Holly

            2012     Culture Sketches: Case Studies in Anthropology.  New York: McGraw-

                           HillCompanies, Inc.

  • Indentations are necessary for correct formatting.
  • The following required information is necessary for different types of reference sources:
    • Book:year, author, title, and publisher (see above examples).
    • Chapter in an Edited Volume:year, author and title of chapter, title and editor of the book, page numbers, and publisher.  Example:

Ginsburg, Faye

         2002     Screen Memories. In, Media Worlds: Anthropology on New

                        Terrain. John Smith and Joe Jones, eds. Pp. 39-57. Berkeley:

                        University of California Press.

  • Journal Article:year, author, title of article, title of journal, volume and issue number [if available] and page numbers.  Example:

Csordas, Thomas J.

1988     Elements of Charismatic Persuasion and Healing.  Medical

               Anthropology Quarterly2(2):121-142.

  • Again, refer to the AAA Style Citation Guide for additional examples.

HOW TO FIND ACADEMIC/SCHOLARLY MATERIALS [3 minimum required]

  • Journal Articles.  A journal article is a scholarly, peer-reviewed one, generally describing scholarly research in some way. Such articles are the type of resources, in addition to books, that ought to be used for student “research papers.”
  • A good clue that you have the correct kind of journal is that its title has the word “journal” in it, such as theJournal of the American Medical Association.Many journals put the word “journal” in their subtitles instead as for example, American Anthropologist is the Journal of the American Anthropological Association.
  • Use the Library databases to find journal articles written by scholars.
  • Click on Library main page; Click on Databases, and then select Anthropology.  This takes you to a page that lists anthropology databases.
    • Anthropology Plusis a good database.
    • eHRAF World Cultures is also good.
    • AnthroSource is one of the best. AnthroSourceis a database that contains all of the journals published by the American Anthropological Association. You can search this database as a whole, or go to specific journals. Try different key words to see what you can find.
    • JSTORorGoogle Scholar are also good ones to try.
    • Articles in anthropology are preferred, however relevant articles in other journals—economic or political topics, human rights, culture studies, and so on—are also appropriate, as are journals devoted to the cultures of certain regions, like Journal of Pacific Island Studies (the connection of the culture to the anthropological perspective can be made in your paper).
    • You can also type search terms in the first page of the Library website, where it says One Search.
  • High quality news magazines or newspapers may also be used.  If they are, at least ONE scholarly journal article or book must also be included as a reference.
  • Do NOT use blogs or most web pages.  The exceptions are museum websites, national or international websites (e.g. United Nations), or other scholarly or professional web sites.  Consult with me if you are not sure.
  • DO NOT use Wikipedia as a reference source.It may be accessed for a beginning introduction to a subject but its information is always questionable and unreliable.
    • The referenceslisted at the end of a Wikipedia article may provide research leads but first check on their academic integrity by Googling the author and title of the book or article.
    • Hint:  An article’s scholastic validity will typically have the word Journal in its title or subtitle, and books will be published by a university press.
    • If the sources appear credible, assess them directly for your research so their informationcan be cited as a reference for your paper.

Writing and Citing tips:

  • If book or journal titlesare mentioned in your paper, italicize them in a sentence.
  • If article titles or chapter titlesare mentioned in your paper, put the title in quotation marks. That way, a reader knows instantly whether you are talking about a book/journal or an article/chapter.
    • However, it’s usuallynot necessary to give the titles of books and journals, or to give the title of an article in your writing.  It isn’t wrong, but it is unnecessarily wordy.  Just say what you want to say, and put the author and year where you got the information in parentheses, like this (Erickson 2021).
    • If a person really wants to know the title of the book or article, they can refer to the References Cited.
    • Writing examples without having to mention book, journal, article, or chapter titles in the paper:
      • According to Erickson (2021), etc. Or,Jones (1998) notes that …etc.

GRADING CRITERIA – 100 pts.

Papers will be graded on the following criteria:

  • Assignment Requirements are addressed:[50 pts.]

(1)  To argue pro and con if the Roma culture is a traditional one or not, based on

the list of features that characterize a “traditional culture.”

(2)  To argue what subsistence patterns—foraging, pastoralism (transhumance or

nomadic), horticulture, or agriculture—may apply to the Roma and why.

  • Content is “meaty”, well-researched, and sufficient to support arguments.
    • Appropriate Scholarly References.  A minimum of three academic references are included.See above for exceptions.
  • Format Compliance:[15 pts.]
    • 5-10 pages for the main body of writing (excludes the References Cited)
    • Calibri font 14 size,1.15 line spacing(except where single space is stipulated), and .8 marginsall around.
    • Identification info in the upper right corner of the first page.
    • Title of the paper included.
    • Page number at the bottom right of each page.
    • Correct formatting for the reference citations and the References Cited.
  • Writing Skills—Writing Correctly with Economy, Clarity, and Logic: [20 pts.]
    • Composition well-structured and organized.
    • Proper sentencing with correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
    • Writing in formal academic style from the THIRD person perspective.
  • Critical Thinking—Logic, Organization, and Well-Supported Arguments:[15 pts.]
    • Arguments are well-organized and defended logically.
    • Arguments are clear and supported with specific examples.


ORGANIZATION[sample]

I.  INTRODUCTION

     A.  Statement of Argument

           1.  The Roma as a traditional or non-traditional culture and why

                 a.  Identify the Roma group or issue

                 b.  Why this Roma group or issue was selected (significance, interest)

           2.  Significance of understanding the Roma as a traditional or non-traditional

                 culture group

                 a.  Roma as a liminal or outcast group

                 b.  Culture differences and misunderstandings

                 c.  Conflicts with the larger society

     B.  Purpose of Essay

           1.  To examine if Roma conflictsare those between a traditional vs. a mainstream

                 culture

           2.  To examine the Roma from an anthropological perspective

                 a.  Culture group identity:  What makes the Roma “Roma”

                 b.  Cultural Relativism:  Appreciating Roma culture on their own terms

                 c.  Ethnocentrism:  Prejudice and bias in favor of our culture and against

                       others who are different from us (such as the Roma)

II.  BACKGROUND

     A.  Who are the Roma?

           1.  Origins and history –Roma in general

                 a.  Myths—creation and origin

                 b.  Names:  self-naming and names given

                 c.  Migratory pattern and settlements

                 d.  Genetics, population, language

           2.  Origins and history of specific group

                 a.  Names:  self-naming and names given

                 b.  Migratory pattern and settlements

                 c.  Genetics, population, language

                 d.  The specific group today

     B.  Culture

           1.  Lifeways

                 a.  Economics (making a living)

                 b.  Social patterns (lifestyle)

                 c.  Symbols of identity:  dress, accessories, hair, etc.

                 d.  Art and music

                 e.  Food, eating patterns

Note:  Some subtopics on this page are compressed for space consideration.  

           2.  Social organization

                 a.  Social-political-religious level of complexity; political authority—who rules

                 b.  Family and clan structure; gender roles and relations

           3.  Belief systems

                 a.  Ethics, world view, and social values

                 b.  Religious and spiritual beliefs

     C.  What makes the Roma “Roma” [cultural identity from the anthro perspective]

           1.  Which of the above culture features and practices together constitute and

                 define the Roma as a distinctive culture group?

           2.  What do the Roma say defines them as “Roma” or a specific group of Roma?

           3.  Is how the Roma are defined constructed by how others view and treat them?

           4.  How do the Roma view mainstream society, people, and culture and why?

     D.  Contemporary Situation and Issues

           1.  Adaptation, acculturation, assimilation—which applies?

           2.  Social, economic and political status

           3.  Social and political issues/conflicts

III.  ARGUMENTS:  THE ROMA AS A TRADITIONAL ORNON-TRADITIONAL CULTURE

        A.  Pro:  Roma Culture as Traditional—why or why not?

        B.  Con:  Roma Culture as Non-Traditional—why or why not?

IV.  ROMA SUBSISTENCE PATTERNS—WHAT APPLIESAND WHY

        A.  Foraging/hunting-gathering; Pastoralism (transhumance or nomadic)

        B.  Horticulture; Agriculture

        C.  Traders, craftsmen, handymen, blend or other

        D.  How and why any of the above function to define Roma identity—or not

V.  CONCLUSION

      A.  Result of Arguments with Brief Summarizing Explanation

      B.  Result of Subsistence Pattern Analysis with Brief Summarizing Explanation

      C.  Anthropological Assessment of Why the Roma are “Roma”

            1.  Characteristics particular to the Roma

            2.  Cultural features the Roma themselves identify with in opposition to others

      D.  Assessment of why the Roma have been marginalized and persecuted

            1.  Lack of land ownership and contribution to the mainstream society?

            2.  Historical bias and preconceptions of the Roma as suspect and exploitative?

            3.  Other

      E.  How the Roma inform us aboutthe nature of culture, power, conformity, and

            of group identity?

END

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