CODE | IMS5020 | ||||||
TITLE | Topics in Maltese Studies | ||||||
UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
ECTS CREDITS | 7 | ||||||
DEPARTMENT | Institute of Maltese Studies | ||||||
DESCRIPTION | Topics in Maltese Studies is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the study of Maltese identity from a variety of perspectives (Archaeology, Architecture, Law and Medicine).The goal of the study unit program is to provide students with a solid foundation in Maltese, landscape, lifestyle and culture. Participants will see how antiquities and relics from Malta's past have been appropriated as potent symbols of a country in the making and how the islands’ chequered past characterized by long foreign presences has moulded and left a deep imprint on Maltese society, and how such accretions have been distilled and integrated in Maltese legislation, buildings (rural, urban and military), and public health including DNA studies. Study-unit Aims The study-unit aims: - To give the candidate the opportunity to appreciate the development of Maltese Architecture from the Baroque period to the British period including Military Architecture; - To invite the students to have a better understanding of the importance of conservation of historical buildings; - To provide the students with the necessary skills to study the Maltese rural landscape; - To show students how archaeology in the past had been used as a political tool to create a national identity and underline historical continuity and therefore legitimacy to one’s own country; - To provide the candidates with a general overview about the historical development of legislation in Malta to the present day; - To provide the students with a better understanding of Maltese Public Health. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - recognise that Archaeology can be a potent political tool - appreciate the historical, technical, and cultural significance of the process of fortification and the nature of its military architecture, including its influence on the development of urban architecture and the building industry - appreciate town planning and civil architecture in baroque Malta - appreciate the historical and socio-political significance of British colonial architecture - comprehend the evolution of local architecture and the built environment during the 20th century - foster a greater appreciation of different architectural styles and movements - realize the importance of landscape in the study of rural architecture - understand conservation procedures on the Maltese stone - compare and contrast Civil, Common and Mixed legal systems - focus on the influence of the legal system on current Maltese culture - understand the socio-legal perspectives on Maltese Court Delays - relate health care behaviour to social structure, political and economic systems and other socio-cultural institutions 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - develop the capacity to critically evaluate archaeological interpretations that link material culture to forms of ethnic/social identity - understand the role and significance that the military and naval use of the Maltese islands has had on the social, economic, urban and rural and military development of the archipelago - understand the evolution in human settlement patterns and urbanization in Malta with the on-site of industrialization - understand the impact in terms of the built environment as related to Malta’s role as a fortress colony - be able to study rural architecture by applying the rules of archival research and landscape archaeology - review the historical development of various branches of the legal system and how this relates to current practice - appreciate the potential usefulness of legal anthropology for the study of law - relate genetics data on human origins, and mobility with the re-population of Malta in the last millennium and the implications for public health. - review the development of the community’s beliefs about health promotion and illness prevention, disease causation and health maintenance, treatment and care. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings Reading lists will be offered by all lecturers. Publications, unless stated, are available at the University Library. Main Texts - Borg, M.: British Colonial Architecture – 1800-1900, (PEG, Malta, 2001) - Frendo, H. and Friggieri, O (eds): Malta: Culture and Identity, (Ministry of Youth and the Arts, Malta, 1994) - Ganado, A.: ‘Storja tal-Legislazzjoni ta' Malta’, in T. Cortis, (ed): Oqsma tal-Kultura Maltija, pp. 245-261, (Gutenberg Press, Malta, 1991) - Savona-Ventura C.: Contemporary Medicine in Malta (1798-1979), (PEG Ltd, Malta, 2005) - Spiteri, S.C.: British Military Architecture in Malta, (Malta, 1996) - Spiteri, S.C.: Fortresses of the Knights, (Publishers Enterprise Group, Malta, 2001) - Thake, C., ‘Art Nouveau Architecture in Malta’, in M. Camilleri, T. Vella (eds), Celebratio Amicitiae Essays in honour of Giovanni Bonello, pp. 327-334 (Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, Malta, 2006) - Vella, N. and O. Gilkes: ‘The Lure of the Antique: Nationalism, Politics and Archaeology in British Malta (1880 – 1964)’, Papers of the British School at Rome v.69, pp. 353-384 (2001) - Vella, N. and Spiteri, M.: ‘Documentary Sources for a study of the Maltese landscape’, in Storja, pp. 16-29.2009 |
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STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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LECTURER/S | Hermann Bonnici Daniel Borg Carmel Cassar (Co-ord.) Denis De Lucca Mark A. Sammut Charles Savona Ventura Stephen Spiteri Nicholas Vella Vince Zammit |
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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. |