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A Village in Malta [Fieldwork Edition]
A case study in the small island society of Malta
160 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1969
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 16, 2023
A case study on the anthropology of a Maltese village. In short, it was just very boring to read. It gave a good insight of the culture and why the people are the way they are but it just wasn’t interesting enough to enjoy.
1.5 stars
1.5 stars
November 4, 2017
"Saints and Fireworks" for freshmen
Let's face it, you don't run across a lot of books on Malta so you have to read what you can get. Jeremy Boissevain wrote a good ethnography on that small Mediterranean island called "Saints and Fireworks; Religion and Politics in Rural Malta" back in 1965. That's the only other book on Malta I know. This is a kind of short version, covering many of the subjects required by the immensely long Holt, Rinehart & Winston anthropology series. It contains interesting information in its 100 pages and tries to connect the general patterns with individual lives and behavior. The obvious problem is that HAL-FARRUG has now become social history. Malta was changing in the 1960s, but it still had a rural sector, people still worked in agriculture or fishing; there was still a big difference between rural and urban life. Men belonged to bands or football clubs and jealously supported one or another patron saint. Half a century later, cars, computers, cell phones, entry into the EEC and use of the euro, a much more educated population, and general prosperity have no doubt changed Malta beyond recognition, not to mention the recent flood of immigrants. Saints and fireworks still loom large in its legend, but I imagine life has changed dramatically. A lot of the book concerns family, marriage, and class differences, all of which must have been transformed. So, if you are interested in Malta today, you won't find much here, that's why I've given it only three stars. However, if you'd like to know what it used to be and read an interesting ethnography of a little-known society, this could be it.
Let's face it, you don't run across a lot of books on Malta so you have to read what you can get. Jeremy Boissevain wrote a good ethnography on that small Mediterranean island called "Saints and Fireworks; Religion and Politics in Rural Malta" back in 1965. That's the only other book on Malta I know. This is a kind of short version, covering many of the subjects required by the immensely long Holt, Rinehart & Winston anthropology series. It contains interesting information in its 100 pages and tries to connect the general patterns with individual lives and behavior. The obvious problem is that HAL-FARRUG has now become social history. Malta was changing in the 1960s, but it still had a rural sector, people still worked in agriculture or fishing; there was still a big difference between rural and urban life. Men belonged to bands or football clubs and jealously supported one or another patron saint. Half a century later, cars, computers, cell phones, entry into the EEC and use of the euro, a much more educated population, and general prosperity have no doubt changed Malta beyond recognition, not to mention the recent flood of immigrants. Saints and fireworks still loom large in its legend, but I imagine life has changed dramatically. A lot of the book concerns family, marriage, and class differences, all of which must have been transformed. So, if you are interested in Malta today, you won't find much here, that's why I've given it only three stars. However, if you'd like to know what it used to be and read an interesting ethnography of a little-known society, this could be it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews