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Ambivalent Europeans: Ritual, Memory and the Public Sphere in Malta
Author(s): Jon P. Mitchell (Author)
- Publisher: Routledge
- Publication Date: 20 Sept. 2001
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 292 pages
- ISBN-10: 0415271525
- ISBN-13: 9780415271523
Book Description
Ambivalent Europeans examines the implications of living on the fringes of Europe. In Malta, public debate is dominated by the question of Europe, both at a policy level – whether or not to join the EU – and at the level of national identity – whether or not the Maltese are ‘European’. Jon Mitchell identifies a profound ambivalence towards Europe, and also more broadly to the key processes of ‘modernisation’. He traces this tendency through a number of key areas of social life – gender, the family, community, politics, religion and ritual.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“This is a work to be commended for its complete approach to a festival commemorating Malta’s patron saint that also addresses the ways in which ritual can express the ambivalence inherent in “Europeanization” in particular and modernity in general, subjects of interest to Europeanist anthropologist and beyond.” – Andrea L. Smith, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
‘This book is a welcome addition to the social anthropology of Europe…it successfully walks a fine line between a detailed empirical analysis and theoretically informed discussion.’ – Thomas M. Wilson, Nations and Nationalism
‘Anyone will enjoy reading this book.’
‘In sum, this is a work to be commended for its complete approach to a festival commemorating Malta’s patron saint that also addresses the ways in which ritual can express the ambivalence inherent in ‘Europeanization’ in particular and modernity in general, subjects of interest to Europeanist anthropologists and beyond.’ – The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
