Lecture by Sarah Azzopardi-Ljubibratic
A public lecture organised by the Malta University Historical Society (MUHS) and the Malta Historical Society (MHS) in collaboration with Palazzo Falson Historic House Museum
Palazzo Santa Sophia, Mdina
Wednesday 2 November 18:30
The lecture will be in English. No booking required; seating on a first-come, first-served basis.
Synopsis
For several decades, it has been noted that there is an increasing interest from international researchers regarding the Early Modern Maltese context. One example worth mentioning is Anne Brogini’s research 'Malte : frontière de chrétienté (1530-1670)', published in 2006, which pictures a cosmopolite Malta, like other Mediterranean Metropolis, facing the problem of the integration of religious minorities, whilst preserving its role as a shield from Islam. In the same context, this public lecture will investigate a part of Jewish History through the question of Marranism – also called Crypto-Judaism. In fact, procedures between 1602 and 1612, held at the Archives of the Roman Inquisition in Mdina, show the existence of an embryonic community of Judaising neophytes in the Archipelago. By presenting the characteristics of their religious practices, I will point out some features of their double identity – externally Christian, but internally Jewish. Besides, between the XVIIth and the XVIIIth Centuries, the Hospitaller Malta was a place where Jews, neophytes and conversos had contacts with each other, under the supervision of the Roman Inquisition. This framework makes it possible to identify different conversion-careers, which show fluctuating degrees in hidden practices, and gives the opportunity to widen the concept of Marranism.
Bio-note
Sarah Azzopardi-Ljubibratic is a Swiss Ph.D. candidate at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), affiliated to the Institute 'Religions, Cultures and Modernity'. She is currently host of the Department of History of the University of Malta, being awarded the Doc.Mobility programme of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SFN), to complete her Ph.D. dissertation. Her thesis investigates the process of conversion of the Jews through the Inquisitions with a particular focus on the Roman Inquisition in Malta. The purpose is to give a new highlight on the concept of marranism. Her research interests are mainly focused on concepts and methods in the Study of Religion and the Jewish History in the Mediterranean Context. Prior to her research stay in Malta, she held a post at the College of Religious Studies as a Student Advisor (2010-2015) and Qualified Assistant (2005-2010) at the Inter-Faculty Department of History of Religions, within the University of Lausanne. She graduated at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lausanne in 2005, with a Major in History of Religions.