https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/36809 2026-04-07T21:13:19Z 2026-04-07T21:13:19Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39479 2020-05-12T10:28:53Z 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The impact of communication technology on interaction experience : religion, co-fabulated storytelling and community building among Maltese gamers Abstract: This study outlines, through ethnographic fieldwork conducted among the Maltese gaming community, how changes in communication technology are impacting the formation/evolution of communities in Malta and how communication technology determines how members of communities of choice interact in the context of these technological developments. Interaction is explored in the context of experience, both personal and community based. There is the need for a reappraisal of how we understand the concept of community, particularly communities of choice, in the digital age. The study highlights how the co-fabulation of narratives aids community building and how technologies of communication have facilitated and enhanced this and how they help redress one of the motivators for co-fabulation: the transcendence of scale. The concept of ‘communities in hyperreality’ is presented as a theoretical framework which helps to understand these contemporary phenomena, particularly in terms of globalisation and internationalisation as mediated through local culture and context. Description: M.A.ANTHROPOLOGY

2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39472 2020-05-12T10:24:01Z 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Nature, femininity and the sacred : constructing spirituality in Catholic Malta Abstract: Contemporary Western Paganism is an umbrella term for many different branches including Wicca, Druidry, Heathenry and much more, having roots in mid-20th century England where traditions like Wicca were emerging. It is difficult to come up with an exact definition which would represent the many different traditions and practices which are found amongst Neo-Pagans around the world. However, there are some common elements namely: their love for nature, polytheistic tendencies and an idea of spiritual holism. This ethnographic research among Neo-Pagans in Malta, will thus focus on the construction and development in Modern Pagans’ belief system as practiced in Malta. It challenges previous research done on the subject by looking at the significance of global influences which are constantly incorporated in this practice. Maltese Paganism offers a unique and creative way of constructing spirituality, which acts as an alternative to the predominant religion of Catholicism. This differs from other societies where Pagans draw upon their own indigenous beliefs. A significant focus on the feminine is evident in this practice and thus, this research will look at how this spirituality counters the code of honour and shame which is prevalent in Mediterranean societies. Adding on to this, a section will be dedicated to describing the femininity that is being reproduced in women’s circles with focus toward the Divinity as comprised of The God and The Goddess. I will dedicate my last chapter to describing the community’s structure and formality and how this differs from other Pagan groups. Lastly, this research will touch upon the notion of the sacred with my own reflexive comments about this. Description: B.A.(HONS)ANTHROPOLOGY

2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39465 2020-05-12T10:14:39Z 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Identity, difference and community : Eritreans and Ethiopians in Malta Abstract: In the first decade and a half of this century Malta faced an influx of boats loaded with irregular immigrants from African countries who made the perilous journey hoping to reach Europe and realise the dream of “a better life”. A majority identify themselves as being of Eritrean or Ethiopian origin in terms of nationality and Orthodox Tewahedo Christians in terms of their religious faith. This study investigates the manner in which Orthodox Tewahedo Christians from Eritrea and Ethiopia living in Malta have adapted elements of their culture to fit the Maltese context and puts forth the arguments that the processes of ‘integration’ and differentiation are intertwined. In particular, differentiation would not be possible without some kind of integration at the Maltese and European level. At the same time, the incomplete nature of ‘integration’ and the possibility of being sent back to their home country is also important for identity. This argument is developed by looking at three areas. First, the legal and demographic aspects of migrant status is examined comparatively. Second, the focus is shifted to the individual level, as the experience of acculturation of four Eritrean nationals and four Ethiopian nationals are illustrated through their life stories as told by them. Third, at the community level, particular attention is paid to the manner in which the Eritreans and Ethiopians have resolved their internal conflicts and adapted their religious rites and rituals to fit the context of Malta. What emerges is a community that has found ways to create for itself several physical spaces within which they gather to recreate the experiences of their homeland, while at the same time experiencing their homeland in a way that can only be done away from it. Description: B.A.(HONS)ANTHROPOLOGY

2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/39461 2020-05-12T10:26:16Z 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Immigrants, narratives, and identity : how immigrants frame their identity through discussing the recollections of experiences of migration Abstract: This critical and ethnographic study explores the complex assemblage of linkages between migration and uncertainty as a symptomatic case of how African boat migrants are constructed and regulated. In line with recent scholarship on uncertainty as a mode of governmentality, I discuss how this felt mode of governing affects one’s being-in-the-world, that supports the bureaucratic techniques of classification, in managing and controlling irregular boat migrants. Processes of subjectification, I argue, are navigated, negotiated and reconstructed through hope. Concluding, I contend that these sparks of faith in the future are interconnected to social imaginaries, emerging from the present while pointing beyond it. The generative account of subject formation, I show, provides a fruitful analytical framework to examine the dynamic connections between structures and agency. It is the actors’ active, creative and imaginative engagement with the present which ultimately sets in motion new possibilities for action. Description: B.A.(HONS)ANTHROPOLOGY

2018-01-01T00:00:00Z