Country of residence

United States

Brief introduction

Prof and Head of Anthropology, University of Oregon

Education

PhD 1979 University of Pennsylvania

Academic profile

Silverman is a cultural anthropologist and folklorist who has been involved with Balkan Romani music and culture for over 30 years as a researcher, teacher, activist, and performer. Focusing on Bulgaria and Macedonia as well as on Balkan Romani immigrants to North America, she has investigated the relationship among politics, ethnicity, ritual, music, and gender. She also explores the phenomenon of “Gypsy” music in relation to the negotiation of identities in the world music market. Her research has been supported by Guggenheim, IREX, NEH, ACLS, and NCSEER. In 1996, Dr. Silverman was the recipient of a university award for Distinguished Teaching. She teaches courses on the Balkans, Roma, Jewish folklore, ethnography, feminism, and performative theories of culture.

Publications

• 2012    Romani Routes: Cultural Politics and Balkan Music in Diaspora (Oxford University Press).

• 2012    Education, Agency, and Power among Macedonian Muslim Romani Women in New York City. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society  (Symposium on Romani Feminisms) 38(1):30-36.
• 2007   Trafficking in the Exotic with "Gypsy" Music: Balkan Roma, Cosmopolitanism, and "World Music" Festivals. In Balkan Popular Culture and the Ottoman Ecumene: Music, Image, and  Regional Political Discourse, ed. Donna Buchanan. Scarecrow Press, pp. 335-361.

Keywords

Music, Balkans, culture, gender, politics

Contact

csilverm@uoregon.edu browse members list