A note from Godfrey Baldacchino
Canada Research Chair in Island Studies

Being born and bred on an island did not mean much to me for 25 years. Then, during my graduate studies, it suddenly dawned on me: while many of my colleagues from developing countries could speak about wars and struggles for independence, my own country (Malta) had no such history. Our political leaders first sought “integration” with Britain; and, after that failed, sought to extend the presence of the British military bases on the island. Not exactly revolutionary stuff. I was embarrassed to acknowledge the truth.

Then I realized that Malta was not alone. Mauritius had also tried to secure integration with Britain prior to achieving independence. Anguilla preferred to remain a British colony rather than obtain independence as part of St. Kitts and Nevis. Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Aruba, Bonaire . . . all rejected independence by wide margins in various referenda. Was it sheer coincidence that all these were island territories? There was something going on here.

I realized that I could look at islands on their own terms.

Of course, Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace, Robert H. MacArthur and Edward O. Wilson had realized before me how powerfully useful and distinct islands can be in the scrutiny of the evolution, endemism, and extinction of living things. Jeremy Boissevain has alerted us to the power and tenacity of island networks. Barry Bartmann reminds us that the oldest democratic polities are islands, both in the Old World (Iceland, Isle of Man) and the New (Bermuda, Barbados). Anthropology cut its teeth with the study of island societies. If ever "life is a beach," it has to be on an island, where most key events happen on or near beaches.

The Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) at UPEI is essentially for islanders or those who work with them and for them. MAIS is global in scope, comparative in approach, and pluri-disciplinary in rigour.

The MAIS program is geared specifically to attract two different sets of candidates. The first is talented young students fresh out of undergraduate studies with a strong mono-disciplinary background, eager to see how different perspectives and theoretical insights can be brought to bear holistically onto one, geographically distinct case. The second is proven, mid-career professionals who wish to see how things “fit in” and to discover that island issues may require island-specific approaches — and solutions — which would allow them to perform their (present or future) jobs better.

I look forward to sharing my expertise and passion with students bold enough to take the step.

Godfrey Baldacchino, PhD(Warwick), MA (The Hague), BA PGCE (Malta)
Canada Research Chair (Island Studies), UPEI