Sounding Roman

Curatorial Note

Ethnomusicological and historical study of Turkish Roma (Romanlar) by Sonia Tamar Seeman, examining the relationship between music, social identity, representation, and political agency in western Turkey. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research, oral histories, recordings, popular culture, and historical documentation, the book traces the changing position of Romani professional musicians from the Byzantine and Ottoman periods through the development of the Turkish Republic and into the contemporary world-music industry. Seeman analyzes how stereotyped representations associated with the category çingene have intersected with musical labor, while also examining the ways Roman musicians have used performance, recording, improvisation, and cultural organization to articulate new forms of identity and public presence. Particular attention is given to professional musicianship, recording industries, Roman dance music, musical cosmopolitanism, cultural associations, and the politicization and folklorization of Roman identity. Published in 2019, the volume constitutes a major contribution to the ethnomusicology of Roma communities in Turkey and to broader discussions of Roma representation, cultural agency, and the relationship between music and social marginalization.