Nostalgia and progress? : Floriana as a case study

Abstract

This dissertation works towards the following research objectives: to gather information on the happy associations and memories of the people of Floriana, to recognise the changes in the town between the past and present in daily events and experiences of the interviewees and to investigate what progress and gentrification has been made in the town of Floriana. The research objectives will be addressed through the following research questions1) How do people brought up in Floriana experience memories of their past there? 2) How do people brought up in Floriana view the physical and social changes that have taken place there? Based on the current literature, this study analyses and explores the concepts of nostalgia, mobile nostalgia, memories and in particular collective memory, progress, and the existing literature on the town itself and its past. This is done qualitatively through six semi-structured interviews and two go-along walking interviews with individuals who were brought up in Floriana in the 1960s. These were recruited through snowball sampling. Thematic analysis is used to analyse four key themes; Community, Balzunetta VS Floriana, Memories and Spaces, and Progress?