The Malta Historical Society would like to announce the theme ‘Rupture: A Historical Perspective’ for History Week 2021.
The presence of rupture has been central to the story of humankind from the dawn of time.
Rupture is manifested through the uncertainty that accompanies major societal upheaval, which could lead to suppression, where progress addressing societal inequalities is stalled, stunted or reversed.
However, it can also engender innovation, serving as a catalyst for social and political transformation. Rupture is sometimes considered insignificant at the very moment it unfolds, yet it gradually becomes clear that it embeds within it a great impact from a historical perspective.
Adopting the longue durée approach allows disruption to be evaluated not as a singular momentous situation but as a series of events that exhibit change in patterns of behaviour. Rupture, and its magnitude, is thus a social construct, a reflection of how society interprets and acts on the nature of such events.
Rupture is also about uncovering those culturally embedded biases and conventions that shape approaches to economic, societal, artistic or political thinking. It is about challenging those biases and norms to unleash creativity in the search of innovation. It is about motivating individuals, or even entire movements to spearhead change.
The MHS welcomes local and foreign researchers, academics and post-graduates to present innovative and original papers with a perspective on Maltese history.
A selection of the papers will be published in the Society’s Proceedings of History Week 2021. Applicants are encouraged to consider a wide range of methodologies and subjects in their approach. Participants may choose from the themes below, though this list does not preclude other topics:
- Protest, resistance, and revolution
- Disruptions across time and space
- Legacies of conquest and dispossession
- Rewriting and reframing hegemonic narratives
- Gender and sexuality
- Trauma
- Performance, art and creative expression
- The impact of epidemics
- Disruption in culinary culture
- Institutional ruptures
- Rupture in public spaces
- Rediscovering and reinventing cultural heritage
- Rupture as an agent of (positive) change
- Inventions and innovations
- Any other area deemed eligible by the organisers
Please send proposals of up to 500 words for 20-minute presentations, together with a short CV, and contact information (email, phone and postal address) to MHS by not later than 30 June 2021.
