We named the journal spontaneously ROMANO DŽANIBEN which can be translated into Czech in many different ways: science focused on Roms, knowledge about Roms, discovering(getting to know) the Roms, Romani knowledge (what the Roms know)...  The width of the title’s semantic field is an advantage since it covers many semantic nuances all of which should contribute to the character of the journal.

Milena Hübschmannová
foreword in the first issue of Romano džaniben 1/1994

ISSN 1210-8545 (Print)

ISSN 2788-3809 (On-line)

Journal of Romani Studies

Since its founding in 1994, Romano džaniben is the only professional periodical in the Czech Republic that is systematically focused on the language, history and culture of the Roma in the broadest sense of the word. Romano džaniben publishes scholarly articles on Roma from around the world (including articles by Romani scholars) and reviews of current Romani literature; some of its issues are monothematic. At the same time, it pays attention to the voice of Roma, publishing memoirs, essays, profile interviews with Roma artists and other personalities, and samples of their work. It is published twice a year with a volume of approximately 180 pages in print (300 copies) and online.

History of the journal

The journal was established in 1994 in Prague by a group of Czech Romani studies experts, including Hana Šebková, Edita Žlnayová, Zbyněk Andrš, Ruben Pelar, and Milena Hübschmannová, the founder of Romani Studies as a university program in CR (Charles Universtiy, Prague, since 1991) and the prominent figure of Czech post-war Romani studies as an academic discipline. Hübschmannová became the leading figure in the development of the journal (she hold the post of the editor-in-chief since 1994 until her death in 2005). Since then a number of Hübschmanová’s disciples were involved in leading the edition office of the journal, including Peter Wagner, Jana Kramářová and Eva Zdařilová. Since 2011 the editorial office is headed by Pavel Kubaník and Helena Sadílková.

The journal is published by the organization Romano džaniben, twice a year. Since 2010, the journal is included on the list of Czech academic peer-reviewed journals established by the Czech governmental Board for Research, Development and Innovation.

Present of the journal

Romano džaniben is an open access journal as defined by the BOAI, with individual author texts subject to a CC-BY public license. Texts are published in Czech, Slovak and Romani languages; the editorial office also accepts texts in English, but these are translated. More information in the section about the journal/ for authors.

Structure of the journal

While keeping its prestige as a respected academic journal, Romano džaniben strives to remain the information, referential and discussion platform for a whole range of professional groups, including practitioners and Roms themselves.

Since 2009, the journal is divided into two sections:

peer-reviewed section

- academic texts submitted for publication undergo a review by two independent reviewers who suggest (or not) the text for publication (if needed after rewriting).

- we prefer texts based on data from field research

- contributions are published in Czech (or Slovak), with an abstract and key-words in English

revue

- published texts include: essays and non-academic texts; interviews with Romani narrators and personalities, historical documents and other field work material (for example collected transcribed oral material such as songs and tales), portraits of Romani personalities, literary and visual arts authors, etc., including interviews and examples of their works

- highly appreciated are materials (interviews, narrations, literary works) in Romani

- the contributions are published in Czech (or Slovak) or in the Romani original (if available) and Czech translation

See the author guidelines section for more information.

Contact us at: redakce@dzaniben.cz