Engaging in popular communal imagination and the Holy Week culture in Malta : emancipatory thinking and the Holy Land / Jerusalem narrative

Abstract

This paper derives its impetus from a project of community learning centring on a Holy Land narrative that captures the imagination in many parts of Southern Europe, including the community and country in question. The focus is the series of activities surrounding Holy Week in the Roman Catholic calendar and the country in question is Malta. This article sheds light on the politics of the event or, more accurately, the relationship of Holy Week and politics primarily in Malta but also in several parts of Southern Europe, most notably Spain, well known for its Semana Santa activities. Reference will be made to Malta, Italy, Egypt and Spain in pursuit of an emancipatory reading of the Jerusalem/Palestine narrative, drawing inspiration from Liberation Theology, Postcolonial theory and Emancipatory Pedagogy.