https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20062 Wed, 08 Apr 2026 13:13:13 GMT 2026-04-08T13:13:13Z https://www.um.edu.mt:443/library/oar/retrieve/871ab114-adff-46c7-892d-1b071c703cf0/ https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20062 https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20224 Title: Communities of dance : social dancing in Malta : a case study on Argentine tango Authors: Baldacchino, Jean Paul Abstract: Social dancers thrive on the communication generated by improvised dance, inspired by the partner and the music, unpredictable and ever changing. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20224 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20223 Title: 'Contentious' politics and the production of place : the case of Cottonera Authors: Cutajar, JosAnn; Vella, John Abstract: This paper critiques top-down, investment-led approaches which seek to re-use and re-habilitate cities but do little to tackle the social problems found in these areas. Urban regeneration projects rarely involve local people, and if they do, these are only engaged when the project has already been formulated. This paper departs from the premise that the community has the experience, knowledge and understanding of the place, and hence can come up with ideas which will benefit both the developers and the residents. Institutional ethnography was used to study how two organisations in a socially deprived area in Malta adopted public participation to come up with two types of political actions – one promoting the politics of demand, the other the politics of act. The paper explores whether and to what extent these types of political actions bring about social change that ameliorates the standard of living of the communities involved. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20223 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20222 Title: Analysing the governance of Maltese culture and Valletta 2018 from a central government and local councils perspective Authors: Borg, Colin Abstract: This paper analyses culture from a national policy perspective and by taking into account the Valletta 2018 initiative that is directly and indirectly changing the cultural platform of culture in the Maltese Islands. Given the small geographic size of Malta and the strong interplay of the central government in policy-making, a special emphasis is made to the relationship between the local councils and the central government. The original contribution of this paper stems from its dynamic analysis of culture and governance. The analysis is supplemented by primary results that were derived from a survey conducted with all local councils in Malta and Gozo. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20222 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20221 Title: Unapologetically political and sociological : developing and renewing museum spaces Authors: Borg, Carmel; Mayo, Peter Abstract: In the context of Malta’s Valletta 2018 commitment to maximise, popularise and ‘Europeanise’ its cultural spaces, this paper examines the role of national museum spaces in the contemporary era of cultural hybridity, liquidity (Bauman, 2000) and mobility. Departing from a critical pedagogical framework, the paper examines how ‘national’ cultural sites which have historically served to reproduce hegemonic ‘imagined communities’ (Anderson 1991), can be genuinely transformed into ‘ecologies of cognition’ (de Sousa Santos 2006). These are dynamic public spaces where cognitive justice and democracy are affirmed. The role of curators as mediators of knowledges and as adult educators within mainly state-sponsored institutions will be interrogated. Also problematised is the notion of ‘national’ and ‘permanent collection’ in a Maltese context which is dynamic and cosmopolitan. In the final analysis, this paper will contribute to the ongoing search for greater participation of the Maltese publics in the formulation of national imaginations through active engagement in museum experiences. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/20221 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z