Intercultural Understanding and Maltese Identity
What the domain tests
Intercultural understanding and Maltese identity examines how cultures meet, how identities are formed and how Malta's layered history shapes belonging. The exam tests analysis of identity claims, not recitation of stereotypes.
Core rules and concepts
- Culture includes language, beliefs, practices, food, music and institutions. Identity is both self-defined and ascribed by others; it can be multiple and changing.
- Essentialism treats culture as fixed and homogeneous; constructionism stresses history, power and negotiation. Interculturalism emphasises dialogue and exchange, not merely coexistence.
- Malta's layers include Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Norman, the Knights of St John (1530-1798), French (1798-1800), British (1800-1964), independence (1964), republic (1974) and EU accession (2004). Maltese is a Semitic language with Romance and English influence; Maltese and English are official.
- Migration, diaspora, tourism and digital media continue to reshape identity.
Worked example. The village festa. Reasoning: describe the ritual, band clubs, fireworks, procession and food; analyse how it marks religious identity, local rivalry and community memory; note contestation over noise, safety and cost. A strong answer treats the festa as lived, contested culture rather than a postcard tradition.
Traps that cost marks
- Defining Maltese identity by a single trait such as language or religion.
- Romanticising culture and ignoring power or exclusion.
- Confusing nationality with ethnicity.
- Assuming cultures are pure and unchanging.