Malta's Sense of Self

It is quite remarkable to see how large of an influence and impact religion has on the tiny island of Malta, especially in more recent history. A 90% Christian population is not a statistic to be overlooked, and is one that falls in the top 20 countries that have high Christian percentages. As such an overwhelmingly large percentage of the people are Christian, it has become a defining factor of being Maltan since the times of St. Paul. The (relatively) recent sense of independence that Malta has experienced has produced a constitution that allows for “freedom” of religion, but at the same time declares Christianity (Roman Catholicism) as a state religion. For me at least, these seem nearly contradictory. Having a state religion established means that the government, in a way, expects the Maltese to be Christian. This leads to political decisions being aimed towards what may be religiously “correct” (i.e. ones that may promote religious ideals rather than ones that may progress the country as a whole: realize these two are not always correlated). I realize that this is simply the norm in Malta, and is likely generally regarded as a perfectly acceptable and reasonable method of making decisions. It is simply difficult for me, a member of another country which is in many respects different from this religious extreme, to understand how it has become the social norm.

In a bit of irony, the other largest defining aspect of being Maltese, based on a few of the readings, is the Maltese language itself. An extremely small number of people speak it in the world, making it unique and its speakers identifiable. The irony comes from its origins: the Arab invasion in 870 CE. This left an Islamic influence on the Maltese culture during that time which has propagated and can be seen in various aspects even today including the naming of some towns and villages. The fact that these influences are Arab in nature, conflicts with the extreme part of the culture that is now Christian. If being Maltese means pulling from conflicting ideals, it is interesting that it persists (a bit of what Dr. Gambin spoke about) throughout the culture.

Furthermore, this strong sense of belonging and the specific identifiers that the Maltese use in present day are quite different to Malta historically. Malta, being a pit-stop along trade routes and a country that has simply been ruled by the current world power (which has switched many times), has had a difficult time establishing traits that set it apart from other areas of Europe. It has simply been mainly an extension of other cultures. But since gaining its independence, it has developed a sense of self. It uses the traits discussed above, and has very recently (2004) joined the EU as its own nation. These steps of independence mark important milestones in Malta’s development. To quote Dr. Gambin again, Malta is in a state of adolescence as a country, and is still “finding itself,” which I find extremely interesting.

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http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127324.htm

http://www.guidetomalta.net/malta-culture/maltese-culture-religion/

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080726/opinion/true-maltese-identity

http://www.maltabulb.com/maltese_culture.html

Research Project Report #1: Alana Snelling - Asian Engineering Education

Some of the fastest growing economies, educational systems, and expansion of new ideas have been emerging from Asian countries. To be honest, everything that we buy now comes from an Asian country and is shipped to the United States. Much of their infrastructure is being rebuilt so that they can use the land available to it’s highest potential. The only way to get the highest potential out of the small amount of land available to them, is to use highly skilled engineers that are able to compete amongst others all around the world. This type of skill requires a high status educational system and that is what I plan to study more in depth. My project will be the types of education needed in Asia to become an engineer, what being an engineer means, and how race and social status effect the possibilities of becoming an engineer.

I have read some studies informing me that many of the Asian countries do not have a formal style of engineering accreditation, yet many are moving in the direction of a more formalized western style education. I would like to find out why this is and the specific steps that Asia is taking in this new move. For China specifically, the growth of education for engineering is linked specifically with the growth of China’s economy. Another article claimed that China has the largest amount of students graduating from college than any other country in the world. My interest is in the number of students that graduate from engineering fields. Korea for example is trying to create accredited programs that allow for the students who graduate to become global competitors in the engineering world rather than specifying in techniques that apply only to Korea.

Engineering accreditation within all of the Asian countries seemed to differ slightly depending on many different factors. I believe that this differentiation is due to how education is dealt with in the Asian cultures. In my international political economy class, I learned that children’s education is the most prioritized thing of the family/house in Japan and China. The mother stays home to learn the information that their children are learning so that when the child comes home from school, the mother can then teach their children even more. Privatized after school programs were also put into place that help prepare students at age 5 for a test that will eventually be take at the age of 17. This test then is the ultimate deciding factor of what college they will attend and more importantly the life they they will lead. Another important factor to the level of education for engineering in Asian countries is the religion that the country associates itself with. Some countries may relate their religious ideas to Buddhism or Hinduism. More interestingly is the close connections with religion and political involvement. Many of these countries are regulated by the government who then have the final say in what is accepted and what is not in education. In some countries education may be on lock down by the government, while others lack in any sort of structure. I believe that all of these subjects have very strong impacts on the way Asian Engineering education is formed and how it has been shaped over time. I plan on researching how these cultural and social topics impact engineering education in more depth to grasp a deeper understanding of the engineering education system put into place in Asia.