CODE | HST1060 | ||||||
TITLE | Feminist History - History of Women in Malta | ||||||
UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||
MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||
ECTS CREDITS | 2 | ||||||
DEPARTMENT | History | ||||||
DESCRIPTION | This study-unit aims to provide an overview of the history of women in Malta within a widen geographical and historiographical context. Even though women were always present in societies - at home, in the economy, in the intellectual arena and in the public sphere - they tended to be relegated to the shadows of historical enquiry. From antiquity up to the recent past much of the discourse on women was shaped by a need to hold them in check, and writing history in the masculine gender did not allow sexual difference. The roles for which women were destined were silent ones: motherhood and domestic tasks which were not considered worth recounting. This study-unit aims to understand the role, duties, powers, prohibitions, controls and norms of women in society throughout the centuries, and how they devised ways of living within these constraints. It will also consider the way in which women are represented in the arts, a source which helps fill in lacunae where documentation is absent. By looking at society as a whole, the history of women also necessarily presents itself as a history of men since their actions were scrutinized by men who defined official memory and controlled public archives. Though there is a limited amount of published material for the local context, this shall be made use of to compare the local scene with the international one. Study-Unit Aims: • To provide a holistic approach which identifies various events and experiences that have shaped women’s lives and their expectations; • To look at women’s history from antiquity to the recent past, targeting particular milestones in feminist history such as the birth of feminism in the nineteenth century, to its further development in the twentieth century, and how such events were reflected in the local scene, if at all; • To raise awareness about the limits of primary sources for the study of women’s history, but also show how ‘standard’ documents can be used to analyse various aspects of women’s lives in the past. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • recognise the historical roots and context of women’s experiences throughout the centuries; • question women’s history and how historical change affected the lives of women throughout the centuries; • explain how women managed to gain greater control over their lives during the 20th century; • illustrate the range of ways in which women in the past have been represented. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • engage critically with a variety of sources on the past, including under-exploited ones; • demonstrate a basic knowledge of the milestones shaping the history of women throughout the centuries, with a special focus on Malta; • demonstrate basic skills of research, investigation and critical thinking. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: • J. Abela, Hospitaller Malta and the Mediterranean Economy in the Sixteenth Century, (Woodbridge, 2018). • C. Cassar, Daughters of Eve, (Malta, 2002). • G. Duby, and M. Perrot, (gen. eds.) & P. Schmitt Pantel (ed.), A History of Women, From Ancient Goddesses to Christian Saints, (London, 1992). • G. Duby, and M. Perrot, (gen. eds.) & C. Klapish-Zuber, (ed.), A History of Women, Silences of the Middle Ages, (London, 1992). • G. Duby, and M. Perrot, (gen. eds.) & G. Fraisse & M. Perrot (eds.), A History of Women, Emerging Feminism from Revolution to World War, (London, 1992). • G. Duby, and M. Perrot, (gen. eds.) & F. Thébaud (ed.), A History of Women, Toward a Cultural Identity in the Twentieth Century, (London, 1992). • R. Harris, & L. Roper, The Art of Survival: Gender and History in Europe, 1450-2000: Essays in Honour of Olwen Hufton (Oxford University Press, 2006). • O. Hufton, The Prospect Before Her: A history of Women in Western Europe Vol 1 1500-1800, (London, Fontanta, 1973). • C. Muscat, Christine, ‘Public Women': Prostitute Entrepreneurs in Valletta 1630-1798), (Malta, 2018). Supplementary Readings: • E. Attard, Il-Prostituzzjoni f’Malta, (Malta, 2014). • G. Aquilina, Gorg, Is-Sorijiet Gerosolimitani il-Knisja u l-Monasteru ta’ Sant’Ursola Valletta, (Malta, 2004). • F. Ciappara, Marriage in Malta, (Malta, Associated News Ltd., 1988). • F. Balzan, Vanity, Profanity & Worship: Jewellery from the Maltese Islands, (Malta, 2013). • Y. Vella, ‘Fejnhom in- Nisa fl-Istorja ta’ Malta?’ in Wettinger G. (ed.) Min Kien Callus?, (Malta, 2003). |
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ADDITIONAL NOTES | This study-unit is solely offered to Undergraduate Diploma in Maltese History in Context students. | ||||||
STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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LECTURER/S | Joan Abela |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |