Laureation address: Liria de la Cruz Hernández
Honorary Degree of Master of Arts
Laureation by Dr Paloma Gay y Blasco, School of Philosophical, Anthropological and Film Studies
Wednesday 4 December 2019
Vice-Chancellor, it is my privilege to present for the degree of Master of Arts, honoris causa, Ms Liria de la Cruz Hernández.
Liria de la Cruz Hernández was born in Madrid in 1969, into a loving Gitano (Spanish Gypsy/Roma) family. She grew up in a deprived area of the city and, like many other Gitana girls at the time, left school before finishing her primary education and married in her teens. For most of her life, Liria worked as a street vendor selling textiles in busy open-air markets. Her day-to-day life was typical of many Gitana women in the poorer districts of Madrid, dedicated to her family, she lived very much within the embrace of her community.
I first met Liria in 1992 when, as a young mother, she agreed to be one of my research subjects in a state-built Gitano ghetto. With tremendous generosity, she allowed me, a non-Gitano anthropologist, to observe her life, and she also invited me to live in her home during my fieldwork. From the start I was struck by her determined joie de vivre, by her resilience, and by her enthusiasm for anthropology. We became great friends and over several years I wrote about her, her family and their neighbours.
Then, in 2009, Liria herself started writing down her life story, by hand, on large ruled notebooks, describing her experience of campaigning against the segregation of Gitano children in the schools of her district. This was the beginning of a new collaboration: she became my co-investigator and co-author. We went on to write an academic monograph and several articles in international peer-reviewed journals.
With this work, Liria has made an important contribution to the progress of collaborative anthropology. She has helped develop concrete strategies to open up anthropological research to a wider public and, in particular, to the scrutiny of research participants. Her work emphasises
the crucial role these participants play in the creation of academic anthropological knowledge, and in this way it contributes to the decolonisation of the discipline and indeed of scholarship more widely. Liria has also done much to help anthropologists understand the intricate workings of the Gitano customary law and its complex relationship to women’s lives.
Not only has Liria produced stimulating, innovative scholarly work, but she has also made an extremely positive contribution to the teaching and learning of Social Anthropology at St Andrews. Since 2009, she has returned to the University almost every year to participate in classes for undergraduates and postgraduates at every level, from first year to PhD.
In these classes, Liria discusses with students her different experiences with anthropology: first as research participant, then as investigator and author. She is a dynamic speaker who talks to students with candour, passion, and insight, and they value enormously the opportunity to see anthropology as it appears from the point of view of those we study. This ongoing willingness to participate in our teaching helps make the learning of social anthropology at St Andrews truly unique.
In all of this, Liria is exceptional. To understand her achievements it is necessary to remember the radical marginalisation, poverty, and deprivation that most Roma people continue to experience across Europe today. Liria de la Cruz Hernández is one of very few Roma women, of any nationality, to have had written work of any kind published. She is one of very few Roma, men or women, to have produced internationally recognised academic work. She is a role model for girls and young women worldwide, both Roma and non-Roma.
Vice-Chancellor, in recognition of her contribution to the field of social anthropology, to the study of Roma lives, and to the teaching of Social Anthropology at St Andrews, I invite you to confer the title of Master of Arts, honoris causa, on Ms Liria de la Cruz Hernández.