Issue date: 4/1/09 Section: News

A man pilots what once was a fishing boat to pick up tourists for an excursion around Dwejra Bay. Bryce Peake, in his lecture at 9 a.m. today, will discuss the politics of authenticity that surround this type of cultural re-appropriation. (Photo courtesy of Bryce Peake)

Clear blue water surrounds the island of Gozo, attracting locals and tourists. Each group views Gozo in its own culturally authentic way.

Bryce Peake, an Eastern alumnus, will present "In Search of the Authentic Gozo" at 9 a.m. today in Blair Hall's Room 1103.

Peake is currently in the anthropology and cultural production department at Brandeis University in Massachusetts.

Gozo is an island of the Maltese archipelago, located near Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Sicilians, the Turks, the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Byzantines and the French once inhabited the island. It became a British colony in 1813, and an independent state in 1964.

Gozo is most known for its involvement in World War II as the base of a Royal Navy Fleet.

"It joined the (European Union) in May of 2004, but was relatively unaffected until 2008 when it adopted the Euro as the primary money system," Peake said.

Peake said "In Search of the Authentic Gozo" is a euphemism. He said the title is a play on the idea that there is such a thing as one authentic, true culture in Gozo.

"Most of the time, in the case of anthropological trope, this is some nostalgic conceptualization of the past meant to obscure the modernity of the people," Peake said.

Peake's lecture will suggest that what is authentic is more or less based on the perspective of how Gozo is viewed by the international tourist.

The authentic Gozo is different for all people.

Peake said what is authentic for the international tourist visiting Gozo is different from the Maltese citizens visiting, which is different from the authentic put forth by the local Gozitan.

"There is no authentic, or inauthentic, rather multiple authentics that are utilized by different people for different means," Peake said.


Kelly Crement can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENnewsdesk@gmail.com.

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