Dwelling in Time: Everyday Life and the Past in Contemporary Birgu

Dr Rachael Scicluna examines how Birgu’s past, present and future intertwine through the everyday lives and experiences of its residents. Dwelling in Time: Everyday Life and the Past in Contemporary Birgu Dr Rachael Scicluna Urban Anthropologist Thursday, 12 November 2026 | 10:00 Lecture in English Notarial Registers Archive, 217 St Paul Street, Valletta This lecture forms part of the Notarial Archives Foundation’s 2026–2027 Lecture Series, kindly sponsored by The Alfred Mizzi Foundation. About the Lecture This lecture explores the meshwork of history-making through local knowledge and the lived experiences of the Vittorjożani of Birgu. It examines how histories emerge through the interplay of generational knowledge and lived experience, suggesting that the contemporary cannot be separated from either the past or the future. The future is not merely a destination or an outcome, but already participates in the present through intergenerational expectations, decisions and relationships. Rather than conceiving of time as a succession of discrete moments, the lecture understands time as a flow in and through everyday life, as people inhabit the world, engage with others and interact with their surroundings. Through these encounters, historical trajectories are continually interpreted, negotiated and recreated. Knowledge, in this sense, is co-produced through everyday practices of engagement, shaped by the experiences of previous generations and the possibilities of those yet to come. The contemporary thus becomes a meaningful, strategic and creative engagement with generational histories. Kinship, family, financial astuteness, politics, religion, values and home become threads woven into the present as people navigate the world, not simply moving across it from one point to another, but dwelling within the temporal and social relations that give it meaning. About the Speaker Dr Rachael Scicluna is an academic and applied urban anthropologist with over 18 years of experience in research, policy, and community-focused initiatives across Europe. Her work focuses on home, housing, social infrastructure, and urban neighbourhoods, with a strong commitment to advancing inclusive and evidence-based social policy for underrepresented communities and the government. Bridging academia and practice, she specialises in translating research into policy recommendations grounded in lived realities and international best practices. In Malta, her notable contributions include involvement in the development of the Rent Law (2020), the Sustainable Communities, Housing for Tomorrow Policy (2020), and the government’s first social map in her role as Chairperson of the Guardian of Future Generations. Rachael has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and with leading academic publishers. She is the author of Home and Sexuality: The Other Side of the Kitchen (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017), co-editor of Gender and Sexuality at Home (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017), and co-author of Shared Housing, Shared Lives (Routledge, 2018). Practical Information Entrance is free. Registration is required. The lecture will last approximately one hour, including time for questions and discussion, and will be followed by light refreshments. Seating is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Registered attendees will be admitted first. All unregistered attendees are required to sign in at reception. Walk-ins without a booking may be admitted subject to space available on the day. We kindly encourage attendees to arrive in good time to allow everyone to enter and minimise disruptions once the lecture begins. The lecture hall will open 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. Photography and Filming: This event will be photographed and video recorded for media, documentation and promotional purposes, including press releases, social media and web content, reports, publications and other printed materials. If you do not wish to appear in photographs or video recordings taken during the event, please speak to a member of our photography or filming team on the day. Accessibility: Please note that lift access is not available for this event and the lecture hall is accessible by stairs only. We sincerely regret the accessibility limitations this may create for some visitors. We do our utmost to keep our lectures and events free. If you have registered but are no longer able to attend, we kindly ask that you cancel your booking or let us know as soon as possible. This helps us manage attendance and plan seating and refreshments appropriately.