Introduction : conjectures on a Mediterranean road map through the salon of the Navigation du Savoir project

Abstract

The mission statement of the Mediterranean Institute, as drawn up by its current Chairman and ex-Rector of the University of Malta, Peter Serracino-Inglott, states that the Institute’s main objective “is to promote Mediterranean Studies in both the arts and social sciences, through a holistic understanding of this historic region, its culture and its people”. It was for the achievement of this purpose that the University of Malta entrusted to the Mediterranean Institute the teaching of a number of topics which promote the culture of dialogue, in particular Anthropology, Geography, Hispanic Studies, History of Mediterranean Civilisation, Music and Theatre Studies. A factor of unity in these courses is interdisciplinarity, a feature which is making them very attractive to students. A projected outcome of this interdisciplinary philosophy is the participation of the Mediterranean Institute in European projects. For this reason, the Mediterranean Institute accepted to participate in a number of MEDA projects and also agreed to become the coordinator of Sub-Project Four, under the auspices of which both the Malta Exhibition and the academic conference that led to these proceedings were held.