Maltese sociology : a discipline or a chimera?

Abstract

Sociology as a discipline can trace its definite birth as the subject we know today to Emile Durkheim (1858-1917). This means that real sociology has been with us a hundred years or thereabouts. Within such a young discipline of study Maltese sociology can barely claim to be in its infancy. The discipline in Malta can perhaps go back to about twenty-odd years. The subject itself became locally examinable at Advanced and Intermediate levels through properly laid down syllabi only from 1993. It is little wonder that Maltese sociology is still seeking to find a more steady footing. This does not mean that it is not gaining ground and popularity each and every year. One has only to note the number of students taking up the subject at pre- and university levels and the number of university courses that include sociology as one of their component parts. Does however the progress that seems to have been generally achieved in such a short time indicate that Malta can now claim to have somehow established a sociological tradition?