Ethnic diversity in the construction of life stories in Latvia

Abstract

In this paper we would like to introduce some questions and initial findings of the research project “Ethnic and narrative diversity in life story constructions in Latvia” (2013–2016) realised by the National Oral History (NOH) researchers’ group at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, University of Latvia. The aim of the project was to understand the significance of ethnic, gender and geographic belonging and its role in the creation of narratives and identity. To cover these issues we chose to focus on two ethnic groups residing in Latvia – Romany and Russian – these groups have different social, historical and cultural experiences, thereby allowing them to be contrasted and compared. In this article we consider how in Romany and Russian life stories the narrators’ relationships to their ethnicity is expressed and whether their tensions in society today are based on ethnicity.