Valerie Visanich, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology, at the University of Malta. She is on the Board of the Research Network on the Sociology of the Arts, European Sociological Association, and previously served as Chair for the Network. During her role as chair, she convened the ESA's international conference for the Research Networks Sociology of the Arts (RN2) and Sociology of Culture (RN7).
Valerie worked on a number of national tendered projects including acting as the project leader for the ‘Strategy for Culture for all Regions in Malta and Gozo’ and for the 'Economic, Social and Cultural Plan' (ESC Plan) for the administrative regions of Gozo and Central Malta, as part of the National Reform Programme Plan (NRP).
She is one of the authors of Malta’s national Cultural Policy (2020-2025) and forms part of the International Cultural Policy Transformations working group based in Zeppelin University, Germany.
Locally, she is the co-founder, a board member, and served as chair, of the Malta Sociological Association.
Her research interests are within the field of Sociology of the Arts, Cultural Policy, Generational studies and Sociology of Emotions. Her latest published work is her monograph entitled 'Education, Individualization and Neoliberalism: Youth in Southern Europe' (Bloomsbury). She is a co-editor (with Victoria Alexander and Christopher Mathieu), of the forthcoming book series 'The Sociology and Management of the Arts' (Routledge).
