Thursday, April 19, 2012

The 2011 ISSRPL

The 2011 ISSRPL was held in Bulgaria and was devoted to the different types of margins that we encounter in our social life. We looked at people, places, families, ethnicities, religions and practices, all from the perspective of our received notions of society’s centers and its margins. Together we explored issues of poverty and its role in the marginalization of certain populations. Through our unique combination of lectures and more experiential learning, we studied the situation of the Roma in the areas we visited, as well as of the Bulgarian Pomaks (ethnic Bulgarians who converted to Islam during the Ottoman period), Catholic and Jewish communities in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and both traditional and emergent Muslim communities (and identities). The international nature of our group and pedagogy provided a crucial comparative perspective on these issues and their attendant challenges. more