Copyright by Chelsi West Ohueri 2016 The Dissertation Committee for Chelsi West Ohueri Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Mapping Race and Belonging in the Margins of Europe: Albanian, Romani, and Egyptian Sentiments Committee: Kathleen Stewart, Supervisor Kamran Ali Craig Campbell John Hartigan Nita Luci Mary Neuburger Jemima Pierre Mapping Race and Belonging in the Margins of Europe: Albanian, Romani, and Egyptian Sentiments by Chelsi West Ohueri, B.A., M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2016 Dedication This is for you Dad. You told me that whether I finish first or fifteenth, I always finish first with you. I miss you every single day. Acknowledgements This dissertation is based upon research that was made possible by funding from the National Science Foundation, the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), and the University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts. I always say that this dissertation has been ten years in the making, dating back to my very first project in Albania during the summer of 2006. I realize that I cannot list every single person here but I would like to take some time to thank many of the people who have walked with me during this decade-long journey. To my advisor Katie Stewart: Thank you for your unwavering support and encouragement throughout this process. Your guidance has proven invaluable. Thank you for helping me find and own my ethnographic voice. If I am ever in a position to someday serve as a dissertation supervisor, I hope to do half as good of a job as that you have done. To my committee members: Thank you for serving on my dissertation committee. Mary Neuburger, I have learned so much from you about the Balkans. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise with me. I especially want to thank you for all of the laughs that we have shared over the years. Kamran Ali, thank you for your kindness and support, and for pushing me in my ethnographic analysis. Jemima Pierre, thank you for serving as a mentor to me and for challenging me to think critically about racialization. John Hartigan, thank you for our conversations about race and for the wonderful feedback on the dissertation. Craig Campbell, thank you for your constant enthusiasm and insight. Nita Luci, I want to thank you for pushing me to think critically about anthropology and the Balkans. I want to also thank you for your friendship. I am so glad our paths crossed during my dissertation fieldwork. I also want to thank other various professors and mentors at UT that I have enjoyed working with over the years: v Christen Smith, Joao Vargas, Kamala Visweswaran, Lok Siu, Circe Sturm, Sam Wilson, Arlene Rosen, Chris Kirk, Maria Franklin, James Brow, Eric Tang, and Simone Browne. A special thank you to Meta DuEwa Jones. Thank you to Dean Esther Raizen and the COLA Dissertation Writing Bootcamp. This research would not have been possible without the help of my extended “family” in Albania, particularly Berta Adhami, Klodi Hoti, Anisa Sokoli, Pjeter and Vitoria Cuni, and all of the families of the Shala Valley. Thank you to Elvisa Sokoli who has been my rock in Albania. Elvisa, I could never thank you enough for all that you have done for me. Thank you to my zysha and my friend, Anila Xira. Anila, you are a constant light in my life. Thank you to my “sister” Orkida Driza and all of the families of Shkozë. I am forever indebted to you. I want to also thank my friends who have provided a support network in Albania: Sylvia Deskaj, Dylan Byrd, Cindy Eldridge, Dave Scott, and Taylor Hodges. You all mean so much to me. Thank you for all of the laughs and memories over the years. Thank you to Lauren Skora and Ornela Gjergji who served as research assistants for this project, and thank you Lauren and Landi for your friendship. Thank you, Klaudian Marku, for being my friend and for being willing to style my hair at New Look Tina so many years ago. I want give thanks to Davijola for her friendship and also for her translation expertise. Thank you, Matthias Bickert, for your friendship and research collaboration. Thank you, Ikuko Fujimoto, for being my friend and travel buddy. I want to especially thank Lori Amy for pushing me to work through difficulties and challenges, and for teaching me what it means to value growth. I am grateful to friends over the years with whom I have crossed paths in Albania: Anisa Brano, Ols Lafe, Kledi Shegani, Armanda Kodra Hysa, Smoki Musaraj, Eric Heath Pendergrast, Inis Shkreli, Ornela Bickert, Brisilda Taço, Blerta Bodinaku, Mirela Çupi, Albert and Majlinda, Elena Shomos, Greg and Marcella Dill, Ilir Kalemaj, Artan Hoxha, vi Alida Karakushi, Besmir Hoxha, Vasilika Laçi, Joana Brazhdi, Elton Brazhdi, Lura Elezi, Jonida Laçi, Kailey Rocker, Jon Eaton, Mindy Michels, Bredi Xhavara, and Hadroj Rami. I owe many thanks to my professors from Millsaps College for their constant enthusiasm and mentorship, including George Bey, Michael Galaty, Julian Murchison, Darby Ray, Elise Smith, and Ming Tsui. Thanks also to my colleagues at Dell Medical and the Health Disparities Team: William Lawson, Virginia Brown, Tracee Hall, Courtney Bailey, Denise Dodd, Claudia Lay, and Benita Bamgbad. I am truly grateful for the friendships that I have established over the years at UT. Thank you Nedra Lee for being my friend and mentor, and for taking a chance and hosting me as a prospective student. You truly are a role model and inspiration. I began my program at UT with some of the most amazing scholars and friends and we grew close as a cohort family. Special thanks to: Sarah Ihmoud, Elizabeth Velasquez-Estrada, Sade Anderson, Eshe Cole, Ernest Alba, Omer Ozcan, Tathagatan Ravindran, Anindita Chatterjee, Lawrence Crockett, Gwen Kirk, and Elizabeth Lewis. I want to thank Traci Wint Hayles for late-night writing and breakfast tacos, and I also want to thank Liz Lewis for being such a good friend and for teaching me how not to sweat the small stuff. Thank you Heather Teague for being both a friend and for providing editing services for this dissertation. You held my hand in the final stages of this process and I truly thank you. Though I know that I cannot name everyone, I want to thank friends from UT and the Austin community that have supported me along the way: Adam Mehis, Jermaine Thibodeaux, Raja Swamy, Jenny Carlson, Halide Velioglu, Naomi Reed, Ayana Flewellen, Bisola Falola, Abdul Haque Chang, Deina Rabie, Aniruddhan Vasudevan, Christina Gonzalez, Saikat Maitra, Tessa Farmer, Kellee Coleman, Charlotte Caples, Virginia Cumberbatch, Erika Grajeda, Agnes Sekowski, Langston Clark, Maryam vii Kashani, Elissa Marek, Gio Batz, Shanya Cordis, Joyce Olushola, Luciane O. Rocha, Monique Riberio, Mitsy Chanel-Blot, Jodi Skipper, and Celeste Henery. I also want to thank the staff members of the UT Department of Anthropology office, especially Adriana, Rolee, Billy, and Chris. I want to thank a very special group of friends that have encouraged and supported me in so many ways through prayer and community: Adele Doughlin, Melissa Williams, Amelia Bowie, Ashley Behnke, Megan Harding, Jessica Smith Mateo, Kathleen Overly, and all of my ladies from Mosaic Church Austin. I want to thank my sisters of Black Brilliance, Maya Berry and Drea Brown, who have helped keep me grounded and focused throughout the dissertation writing process. And I want to give a special thank you to my colleague Gwen Kirk, who first warmed my heart with an invitation to join her at her house for a glass of sweet tea. I would have never made it through graduate school without you Gwen! I want to thank my close friends from home who always support me in all that I do: Natalie King, Allilia Price, Courtney Robinson, Rachael Joe, Maggie Burks, Elizabeth Ofem Kline, Jessica Clincy Mitchell, and Margaree King. I want to give a special shoutout to Ace Madjlesi who is a constant source of wisdom, encouragement, support, and love. My CAKE sisters have prayed for me and have cheered me on since day one of my program. Thank you Amber and KeNosha for being such rocks in my life. I know that I cannot name everyone here but I want to sincerely thank my family for all of their support, including: Aunt Bennetta, Tiffany West Polk, Torrey Jason Allen, Aunt Debra and Uncle Richard, Jackie and Ron, Christina Lee, Hal and Carmen Dockins, and everyone that has walked, and at times crawled, with me on this journey. Thank you to my family in Austin: Ardella, Clifford, Jonathan, Adamma, Lottie, Kristina, and all of the members of the Darden and Ohueri families. I would like to give a special thank you viii to my cousins in Natchez from the White family: Linda, Will, Joy, Leon, Briana, and Ebony. Thank you, Cousin Linda, for all of your support and for always reading every blog entry that I ever wrote. I want to give a very special thank you my Uncle Harold, who has taught me that in everything that I do, to always “go hard!” Thanks to you and Aunt Val for your continual support and love. Thank you to my grandmother Mae, whose love and grace have carried me through. Thank you to my favorite brother Alex, whose jokes and quirks always keep me laughing. To my mother, Janice: You are the salt of the earth.