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Throwing Flowers: Experiences of Misrecognition and Alternative Struggles for Recognition of Istanbulite Roma

Rza, Ulkar LU (2025) SIMZ41 20251
Graduate School
Abstract
This thesis investigates everyday misrecognition of Roma flower-sellers in Istanbul’s Ataşehir district, focusing on how they navigate ethnically mixed neighborhoods and workplaces. Drawing on Honneth’s recognition theory, Giles’s critique, and Gramsci’s cultural hegemony, it examines how racialization and normative discrimination shape daily interactions. Based on one month of ethnographic fieldwork, which included participant observation and 12 semi-structured interview sessions, findings show that misrecognition emerges through both overt prejudice and subtle microaggressions. Participants respond with strategies such as cultivating solidarity, finding recognition in their work, and asserting belonging, which constitute informal... (More)
This thesis investigates everyday misrecognition of Roma flower-sellers in Istanbul’s Ataşehir district, focusing on how they navigate ethnically mixed neighborhoods and workplaces. Drawing on Honneth’s recognition theory, Giles’s critique, and Gramsci’s cultural hegemony, it examines how racialization and normative discrimination shape daily interactions. Based on one month of ethnographic fieldwork, which included participant observation and 12 semi-structured interview sessions, findings show that misrecognition emerges through both overt prejudice and subtle microaggressions. Participants respond with strategies such as cultivating solidarity, finding recognition in their work, and asserting belonging, which constitute informal struggles for recognition beyond formal politics. The study fills a gap in Turkish Romani scholarship, highlighting everyday encounters as critical sites of contestation. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Rza, Ulkar LU
supervisor
organization
course
SIMZ41 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Roma, Istanbul, flower-sellers, misrecognition, recognition, struggles for recognition, normative discrimination, racialization, ethnography
language
English
id
9216296
date added to LUP
2026-01-21 11:14:51
date last changed
2026-01-21 11:14:51
@misc{9216296,
  abstract     = {{This thesis investigates everyday misrecognition of Roma flower-sellers in Istanbul’s Ataşehir district, focusing on how they navigate ethnically mixed neighborhoods and workplaces. Drawing on Honneth’s recognition theory, Giles’s critique, and Gramsci’s cultural hegemony, it examines how racialization and normative discrimination shape daily interactions. Based on one month of ethnographic fieldwork, which included participant observation and 12 semi-structured interview sessions, findings show that misrecognition emerges through both overt prejudice and subtle microaggressions. Participants respond with strategies such as cultivating solidarity, finding recognition in their work, and asserting belonging, which constitute informal struggles for recognition beyond formal politics. The study fills a gap in Turkish Romani scholarship, highlighting everyday encounters as critical sites of contestation.}},
  author       = {{Rza, Ulkar}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Throwing Flowers: Experiences of Misrecognition and Alternative Struggles for Recognition of Istanbulite Roma}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}