History in the Malaysian Public Sphere

Abstract:In recent years, the Internet and social media have opened discourse on history in the public sphere. Once the preserve of professional historians and schoolteachers, and confined to academic journals, monographs, occasional papers, and conference presentations, discussions on history now take place on social media. Professional historians once focused on historiography—the way history is written and represented—inter alia Euro-centric versus Asian-centric/Malaysian-centric perspectives, the poverty of historicism, post-colonial studies, and the value of Marxist, sub-altern, or gendered analysis. Ordinary people now do research on history and take on the role of netizen historian, and public involvement extends beyond museum displays and occasional newspaper forums.