| CODE | HST2037 | ||||||
| TITLE | The Christianity Debate: Disjuncture and Continuity in Medieval Malta | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 2 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | History | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The fate of the Maltese population and of Christianity in the aftermath of the Arab-Muslim conquest of the islands in 869-70 is one of the fascinating mysteries of Maltese medieval history. Since G. F. Abela wrote his grand history of these islands in 1647 the survival of Christianity during roughly two centuries of Arab-Muslim rule has featured prominently in Maltese historiography and social memory. For Abela, as for nineteenth and early twentieth century Maltese historians, popular writers, and authors of school textbooks, the survival of Christianity from the time of Saint Paul and during the later ninth and eleventh centuries was closely intertwined with issues of "national" and cultural identity. Even when tradition ceased to be viewed as a legitimate source of historical information, the ambiguous and inconclusive evidence transmitted by a handful of written sources and the scant and problematic nature of the material evidence ensured that the contentious debate continued unabated. In recent years, scholars with contrasting views have steadfastly debated the historical evidence in academic publications, conferences and the press, reinterpreting long-standing sources and analyzing new ones. This study-unit, therefore, is as much about how historians analyze and interpret historical sources as it is about how perceptions of the past in the collective memory relate to the construction and deconstruction of a "national" identity, and how myths, memories, traditions and scholarly interpretations of the past are appropriated and used in the present. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims to introduce students to the historical sources and historiography related to the arrival of Christianity in the first century A.D. and during the Arab-Muslim phase in Maltese history. In particular, the study-unit will focus on one of the most contentious themes from this era, namely the manner and degree to which the Arab-Muslim conquest impacted the lives of the native population and their Christian religion. Through a careful analysis of the manner by which recent and past generations of scholars and historians have interpreted the historical evidence, students will consider how historical knowledge is created and how historical analysis and interpretation may reflect particular world-views and political-cultural perspectives, biases, agendas and concepts of collective identity. Students taking this study-unit will also debate the degree to which society's remembrance of the past is subject to continuous interpretation and re-interpretation under the shadow of the present, and the implication that this may have on the production of historical knowledge. Concerned as much with the interpretation of historical evidence in the social, political and cultural context of the scholars who embark on that interpretation as with an examination of the sources themselves. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify the main documentary sources relating to the Arab-Muslim conquest of the Maltese Islands and its impact on the native inhabitants and their Christian faith; - Describe how past and current scholars and authors have provided different interpretation of the historical evidence regarding the fate of Christianity in Malta in the aftermath of the Arab-Muslim conquest; - Relate above historical interpretations and debates to the social, cultural and political context of the time. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Think critically about the construction of a Christian identity in the collective memory of the Maltese in pre-modern and modern times; - Evaluate how present factors have influenced and at times distorted recollections of the past in Maltese society; - Develop a comparative understanding of how societies have used images of the past to legitimate social norms in the present. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Buhagiar, M. (2007) The Christianisation of Malta. - Camilleri, M. (2013) Il-mit Pawlin u l-abbuz tal-istorja Maltija. - Luttrell, A. (1975) Medieval Malta. Studies on Malta Before the Knights. - Wettinger, G. (1986) “The Arabs in Malta,” in Malta: Studies of its Heritage and History. Supplementary Texts: - Abela, G. F. (1647) Della Descrittione di Malta Isola nel Mare Siciliano. - Anderson, B. (2006) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. - Brincat, J. M. (1991) Malta 870-1054: Al-Himyarî’s Account [MZE PB100]; revised edition, 1995. - Connerton, P. (1989) How Societies Remember. - Dalli, C. (2006) Malta: The Medieval Millennium. - Dalli, C. (2005) "The Siculo-African peace and Roger I's annexation of Malta in 1091," in De Triremibus: Festschrift in Honour of Joseph Muscat, ed. T. Cortis and T. Gambin, 265-74. - Luttrell, A. (2002) The Making of Christian Malta. - Geary, P. (2003) The Myth of Nations: The Medieval Origins of Europe. - Graham, B. and P. Howard, eds. (2008) The Ashgate Research Companion to Heritage and Identity. - Metcalfe, A. (2011) Muslims and Christians in Norman Sicily: Arabic Speakers and the End of Islam. - Metcalfe, A. (2009) The Muslims of Medieval Italy. - Mayr, A. "On the history of the older Church in Malta," trans. H. Stoger, in 60th Anniversary of the Malta Historical Society: A Commemoration. Malta, 2010, 23-40. - Wettinger, G. (2010) "Why a 1898 paper is being republished: a personal note," in 60th Anniversary of the Malta Historical Society: A Commemoration. Malta, 2010, 19-22. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | This study-unit is offered to History/European and Global History students only. | ||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Tutorial | ||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Mark Aloisio |
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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 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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