The uneasy coexistence between ethnic Czechs and Roma has recently been flaring up in anti-Roma protests and riots throughout the Czech Republic. Tensions between Czechs and Roma have been strained for some time, and general Czech attitudes towards Roma are decidedly negative. Despite this, Roma have a significant presence in the popular music industry, indicating that there is something different about how Romani musicians are perceived. This research will seek to understand the general relationship between ethnic Czechs and Roma, Czech attitudes towards Romani musicians, and what shapes these attitudes. Using media, comments on public Internet forums, ethnography, and interviews, this research seeks to understand the underlying Czech values that make Roma acceptable, and often popular, within a musical setting. Understanding how attitudes towards musicians positively differ from those towards other Roma might help us understand the basis of negative attitudes and use this knowledge to address policy formation.

The goal of this research is to examine how the Bulgarian community in the greater Seattle, Washington, area is attempting to maintain its cultural heritage through specific efforts such as carrying on traditional practices. I had witnessed a few performances of traditional Bulgarian songs and dances, and was interested to discover if there was an organized, consistent community effort to continue practicing traditions, maintaining social structures and networks, and perpetuating ideologies or attitudes about their Bulgarian heritage. I began inquiring of Bulgarians living in the area, and then networked through social media, websites, and by attending meetings and rehearsals to examine whether this heritage maintenance was indeed happening, and what it looked like. The Bulgarian community in Seattle appears to indeed be actively involved in retaining their Bulgarian heritage, and this heritage maintenance primarily is evident in preparation for outward acts or events showcasing their traditions and customs. It is during the rehearsals and preparations for these events that the bulk of heritage maintenance occurs. Elements of this include uniting under shared memory, language, music and dance, researching family histories, building community and networking, reintegrating lost cultural practices in the home, observing cultural rituals, wearing traditional dress, and performing for a presumably non-Bulgarian audience, which includes elements of commodification of culture. The motivation for displaying this culture serves as an impetus for identity formation and assimilation into the larger, diverse community of Seattle. Thus a symbiotic relationship is manifested between assimilation within a diverse community such as Seattle, and performance of distinct cultural heritage.