https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/2739 2026-09-25T10:28:12Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149025 Title: Funding hybrid knowledge : early music studies between EU cultural and scientific policy Abstract: Early Music makes fundamental contributions to society and cultural identity, from mass media to tourist sites, from annual festivals to national heritage projects. Yet Early Music research often has difficulty conforming to institutional and policybased categories and definitions at a European level, typically being divided between two major policy domains: science & research, represented by Horizon Europe; and arts & culture, likewise represented by Creative Europe. This article investigates the extent to which Early Music researchers have engaged with European funds in the current Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021–2027 and assesses the challenges and opportunities facing the field in terms of its situation within a broader policy landscape. The article proceeds in three stages. First, it maps the principal European funding frameworks relevant to Early Music research and assesses the extent to which the field has engaged with these opportunities under the current MFF. Second, it cites data collected from survey responses, stakeholder interviews, correspondence and institutional perspectives in order to identify recurring experiences, structural barriers and strategic adaptations within the current policy and funding frameworks. Finally, it discusses the larger implications of these findings for cultural policy, interdisciplinarity and the future positioning of Early Music within European policy. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149017 Title: [Book review] Wagner in context. Ed. by David Trippett Authors: Coleman, Jeremy Abstract: The volume under review is a welcome addition to the Composers in Context series by Cambridge University Press. It also poses a peculiar challenge to the series. As the editor David Trippett ponders in the Introduction, Richard Wagner might himself be ‘the context against which all others can be defined’ (p. 1). Quite simply, there are very few with the same breadth of influence in the nineteenth century and beyond, or who devoted themselves to such a range of artistic, intellectual, and political topics. Trippett is sensitive to the methodological limits of contextual studies as applied to Wagner, as well as to the potentially infinite scope of the undertaking, but happily steers clear of the self-deprecating apologies for adding to a (supposedly) vast body of Wagner scholarship that used to be de rigueur in new books about him. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148516 Title: Choreographing fear : a Laban movement analysis of survival horror gameplay in Resident Evil Abstract: This dissertation examines how choreographed movement contributes to fear and player immersion in survival horror video games through an analysis of selected boss encounters from the Resident Evil series. Using Laban Movement Analysis as the principal analytical framework, the study explores how movement functions as an expressive and affective mechanism within video games. While existing scholarship on survival horror often focuses on environmental design, this research argues that movement is central to the construction of fear and embodied player experience. Focusing specifically on the boss encounters against Lady Dimitrescu and Jack Baker, the analysis explores how these antagonists generate different forms of kinaesthetic unease through choreographed movement. The methodology combines qualitative movement interpretation with quantitative data collection through the logging of recurring LMA elements observed within recorded gameplay footage. The findings demonstrate that movement patterns significantly shape player perception and emotional response within survival horror gameplay. Lady Dimitrescu creates instability and disorientation, while Jack Baker evokes claustrophobia and oppressive tension. By combining dance studies methodologies with game studies scholarship, this dissertation contributes to interdisciplinary discussions surrounding digital performance and survival horror game design. Ultimately, the research proposes that choreographic analysis offers valuable insight into how fear is communicated within video games and demonstrates the potential for movement-based methodologies to inform future horror game development. Description: B. Dance St.(Hons)(Melit.) 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148122 Title: The evolution of drama schools in Malta from MTADA till today Abstract: The aim of this study is to assess the progression that drama schools and actor training have gone through in the past fifty years since the Manoel Theatre Academy of Dramatic Art (MTADA), the first formal academy of its kind in Malta, was founded in 1977. It starts by defining the word ‘evolution’ in a biological sense and frames this around three key reference points, namely extinction, adaptability, and plasticity. The dissertation applies these terms in the local cultural and theatrical context and demonstrates how these have affected actor training in Malta. It explains that the term extinction does not necessarily mean that drama schools or theatre no longer exist in Malta but rather focuses on what has been lost or weakened within Maltese drama education. It will go on to demonstrate how schools had to adapt and constantly find ways to balance different pressures in order to survive while staying true to their values. Finally, the dissertation will also look into the future and enquire what Maltese theatre practitioners who are, or were, owners, educators, or leaders of their respective schools or academies envisage the future will hold for theatre and actor training in Malta. Description: B.A. (Hons)(Melit.) 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z