How to think about gypsies?

Gypsies are the most marginalised people in Europe, and the so-called Roma settlements are probably the most visible manifestation of this. In this presentation I would like to focus on the discussion of three cases from my field research. On the basis of these, I will outline the consequences of such marginalisation and use them to discuss not only its causes, but also ways to prevent marginalisation and what role the social sciences can or should play in this endeavour.