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The Making of Public History in Asia

Dr Li Na, University of Singapore

Over the past twenty years, public history has come of age. The convergence of media technologies has changed the manner and scale of how publics access, interpret, present, and preserve historical knowledge. Old binaries of producer/consumer and professional/amateur have blurred in a post-colonial, digital world. Historical authority, which was monopolized by academics in the mid-twentieth century, has become more democratized.

Public history in Asia has followed a somewhat different trajectory. It is technologically driven; it pushes on disciplinary boundaries; and it calls for strong regional collaborations. This talk explores a range of public history practices and reflects on the emergent opportunities and challenges in selected Asian countries.

Na Li , Associate Professor of History at the National University of Singapore, is a public historian and urban planning scholar who explores the intersection of public history and urban preservation. Her first book, Kensington Market: Collective Memory, Public History, and Toronto’s Urban Landscape investigates ethnic minority entrepreneurs in one of the most diverse neighborhoods, Kensington Market in Toronto, incorporates collective memory in the urban landscape interpretation, and suggests a Culturally Sensitive Narrative Approach to urban preservation.