Appendix 1
172
WORKING WITH THE ATHENIAN ROMA: CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH
METHODOLOGIES FOR A COMPLEX FIELD
Othon Alexandrakis
Rice University
Fieldwork is undoubtedly one of the most intellectually demanding aspects of
anthropology. It has been described variously as an exciting (often) location-based
research endeavor punctuated by moments of chance leading to illuminating discoveries,
and even as a period of deep and sometimes challenging embeddedness necessitating
occasional disengagement from the field to retain academic purpose and vantage point.
Each experience of conducting fieldwork is different. The techniques anthropologists
employ vary according to the particular questions we seek to explore and the conditions
we encounter in the field; we all, however, seek to gather data pertinent to our intended
subject and also to any emerging, unforeseen, and even hidden phenomena relevant to it.
This article will explore both these dimensions of fieldwork, with particular focus on this
latter, and more, challenging aspect, by way of preliminary reflection on the methodology
I employed during my recent time in Athens researching the contribution Greek Roma
make to local modernization and emergent understandings of citizenship and society1.
Over the past few years Athens has become a locus of increasing European Union
and globalized socioeconomic flows, rapid minority2 population growth, and Hellenic
social change. While the sudden escalation of activity in and around Greece has certainly
1 Of note, my forthcoming dissertation focuses equally on Roma and non-Romani Greek minorities, but for
the purposes of this article I will focus on the former.
~ I use the term ‘minority’ to describe self-identifying collectivities (based on “ethnic”, “cultural”, or other
perceived distinguishing characteristics). I consider Roma to be a Greek minority. Greece does not
officially recognize any minority with the exception of a small Muslim population in Northern Thrace.