Margaret Beissinger

Margaret Beissinger is a Research Scholar and Lecturer in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at Princeton University. Her work bridges Balkan studies, Romani cultural practices, and oral tradition analysis.

• PhD in Folklore & Mythology (South Slavic and Romanian), Harvard University, 1984
• AB in Folklore & Mythology, Harvard University, 1976

Her research focuses on Balkan oral epics, Romani music-making, and gender dynamics in southeastern European narratives. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in southern Romania since the 1980s, examining Romani musicians' roles as both marginalized and celebrated performers.

Her publications reveal a trajectory from foundational studies on Romanian oral epic poetics to contemporary analyses of manele (Balkan ethnopop) and Romani adaptation in post-Communist societies. Key themes include identity negotiation, musical hybridity, and oral tradition survival in modernity.