EXPRESSIVE ENACTMENTS OF ETHNIC MEMBERSHIP IN THE ROMANIAN-AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS FROM CALIFORNIA

Raluca ROGOVEANU

doi:10.24193/subbphilo.2021.2.18

Authors

Raluca ROGOVEANU Faculty of Letters, Ovidius University in Constanta, Romania. Email: ralucarogoveanu@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1796-7029

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbphilo.2021.2.18

Keywords:

Romanian-Americans, California, ethnic organization/association, cultural practices, identity, representation

Abstract

Expressive Enactments of Ethnic Membership in the Romanian-American Organizations from California. Centered on the missions and repertoires of the Romanian ethnic organizations in California, this study analyzes how Romanian-Americans negotiate their Romanian ethnicity as individuals and as members of organized groups. While describing ethnic organizations as loci of ethnic awareness, founded on the expressive identification of Romanian-ness in the American space, my focus is on the heterogeneous discourses of the most visible Romanian ethnic associations in California. This study identifies ways of "encapsulating" Romanian ethnicity in ensembles of cultural practices which showcase ethnic culture through artifacts and cultural events as signifiers of ethnicity.

REZUMAT. Reprezentări expresive ale apartenenţei etnice in organizaţiile româno-americanilor din California. Lucrarea analizează misiunea și reprezentările culturale ale organizațiilor etnice românesti din California și pune in evidență modul în care româno-americanii își negociază apartenența etnică în calitate de indivizi și ca membri ai unui grup etnic. Organizațiile românesti sunt descrise ca spații ale cunoașterii etnice, construite pe baza unei viziuni despre "spiritul românesc" în Statele Unite. Studiul analizează discursurile eterogene ale celor mai vizibile asociații etnice româneşti din California și identifică principalele practici culturale ale acestora care încapsulează cultura românească în artefacte și evenimente culturale, mărci ale etnicităţii.

Cuvinte-cheie: romano-americani, California, organizaţie/asociaţie etnică, practici culturale, identitate, reprezentare

Author Biography

Raluca ROGOVEANU, Faculty of Letters, Ovidius University in Constanta, Romania. Email: ralucarogoveanu@gmail.com

Raluca ROGOVEANU is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Letters, Ovidius University in Constanta, Romania. She has an MA and a Ph.D. from the University of Bucharest. The books, book chapters and articles published so far are indicative of her keen interest in American culture and society. Between 2013 and 2014 she was a Fulbright Senior Researcher at UCLA. In 2017 she was awarded a Balch Fellowship at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Member of several American Studies associations from Romania and abroad, Raluca Rogoveanu has participated in many national and international conferences. Email: ralucarogoveanu@gmail.com

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