UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
Institute of Maltese Studies
M.A. in Maltese Studies
May/June 2010 Session of Examinations
IMS5010 – Cults, Religion and Society
Monday, 31st May 2010
Duration: 2 hours
16.45hrs – 18.45hrs
Please answer any TWO questions.
1.
The early modern obsession with witchcraft can only be explained through a
proper understanding of the historical transformation that was then taking place in
Malta.
2.
The Inquisition records reveal that the Tribunal perceived writing and literacy as
potentially a promoter of both heretical behaviour and social protest among the
laity. Discuss.
3.
Religion provided the only focal point in the lives of women outside the house
and the working environment. Discuss with reference to the role of nunneries in
post-Tridentine Malta.
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4a.
Over time festa celebrations in Malta have been transformed from a simple
religious activity into an elaborate social performance. Discuss.
OR
4b.
“When recasting the religion of the Maltese according to the model of
festa-Catholicism, we observe that people organize all aspects of their lives around
the festa and parish life.” What changes and transformations have been suggested
in Maltese ethnography? Discuss.
5.
Explain how Malta was affected by the Enlightenment.
6.
Describe the main differences between the Baroque and the Enlightenment era.
7.
Do you think that death was a major preoccupation for the Maltese in the eighteenth
century?
8.
“Religious change in the Maltese islands is establishing a new general order of
existence and a new ethos of religious identity.” Is local religion perhaps beginning
to appear under a new guise?
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