1st Edition
The Different Faces of Politics in the Visual and Performative Arts
This book highlights the linkages between politics and governance and the arts. The essays in the volume show how visual and performative arts have challenged those in power – or conversely patronised by them – been used for propaganda, to stir up national fervour and found themselves at the receiving end of political censure. They focus on the tension and symbiosis between the politician and the artist foregrounding how they have always tried to influence, challenge and, in some cases, undermine one another.
This volume will serve as an indispensable source for researchers and academics in political science, the humanities and performing arts.
Politics in paintings, sculpture, urban planning, theatre and cinematography:
An Introduction
Mario Thomas Vassallo and André P. DeBattista
Part 1 - Politics and the Visual Arts
1. Polis and Imperium: the making of the modern world
Horatio Caesar Roger Vella
2. Politics and Art in Baroque Malta: A Case Study in the Expression of Magnificence and its Relevance to the present day
Theresa Vella
3. Colonialism, collective identity and symbolism: Constructing perceptions of identity in a former British colony
Charles Xuereb
4. Symbols of statehood: flags and national anthems
André P. DeBattista
5. Postage Stamps as a political tool across time and space: Reflections of a Maltese Philatelist
André P. DeBattista
6. Architecture, Politics and Memory in Post-WWII Europe
Conrad Thake
7. Political posters and Corsican nationalist mobilisation: 1970-1990
André Fazi and Xavier Crettiez
Part 2 - Politics in the Performative Arts
8. French cinematography and politics: A symbol of French national cultural identity
Charles Xuereb
9. The World through the Comedian's Lens: The Political and Social Commentary of Charles Chaplin
Clyde Puli
10. Brecht for non-marxists
Marco Galea
11. Fantozzi and politics as a farce: A critical perspective
George Vital Zammit
12. The politics of film industry: The Maltese experience
Karsten Xuereb
13. Pathways: Walking in a Terrain in Flux
Paula Guzzanti and John D’Arcy
Biography
Mario Thomas Vassallo is a Senior Lecturer of governance, politics and public administration. He is the Head of the Department of Public Policy, University of Malta, and serves as Rector’s Delegate to the Institute for Public Services. Vassallo hosts the series AGORA, the weekly political talk show on Campus FM, the University of Malta’s radio station. His academic works have been published by Maltese and international publishers.
André P. DeBattista lectures at the Institute for European Studies at the University of Malta and is a political scientist and occasional columnist. He is a Research Associate at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, Brussels and a Contributing Editor to The European Conservative. He is the author of several scholarly papers and press commentaries covering the themes of politics, international relations, political discourse and the dynamics of religion and public life.
