We are historians who run "Living with Myths", an ongoing project and seminar series on Singapore that unpacks the myths that shape our identity.

Keep the questions rolling in. PJ and KS will keep checking here, till 20 Sep!

My short bio: We are historians who run "Living with Myths", an ongoing project and seminar series on Singapore that unpacks the myths that shape our identity. Some of us have been accused of having social media proxies and deliberately trying to undermine the PAP's political legitimacy and"rewrite" Singapore's history. We have been attacked as "revisionist historians", which is misleading as rigorous historical research is by definition revisionist. We work on fires, activism, decolonisation, identity, migration, and religion in Singapore history. Our research, which we think is very exciting and cutting edge, aims to uncover new ways of understanding our pasts, as all good histories do. So come join us to talk about what these new histories are, why the past is relevant to our present and future, and anything else you might want to ask!

  • Loh Kah Seng, Sogang University
  • Thum Ping Tjin, University of Oxford

My Proof:

10.30PM And, it’s a wrap—for tonight.

Thanks for all the wonderful questions and brilliant comments. We’ll be back to answer more questions over the week, till 20 Sep (Sun), but will have to leave for now.

Pls subscribe to our Page (https://www.facebook.com/livingwithmyths) for more information.

9.30PM We’re getting lots of in-depth questions, and to do justice to them, PJ and Kah Seng will continue fielding questions for another hour. Thank you for waiting if you have not got your question answered yet.

Comments: 393 • Responses: 5  • Date: 

FinallyGivenIn7 karma

Hello, What do you think is the most recent development in Singapore history that you have contributed to?

Btw you should crosspost this to /r/askhistorians and /r/singapore too!

hamsalamibacon3 karma

Seconded. A lot of potentially interested people in r/Singapore! Mind if I crosspost to that sub?

FinallyGivenIn3 karma

Haha, someone did by the time i tried to do so. Guess i lost out on the non-existent Karma

LivingwithMyths2 karma

Thanks!

sneakergaze6 karma

1- What are your thoughts on "the state of" Singapore literature?

Do you think fictional works (including even film, perhaps) can inform our understanding of Singapore's (alternative) history/ies and if so, how? Are there any works that have stood out for you in this regard?

2- Also curious about your thoughts on the extent to which Singapore's official and alternative histories are centered around certain demographics - do you think there has been sufficient + accurate coverage across gender, ethnicity in particular?

Thank you!

lkshis5 karma

Hey, we should have asked Li Sui to join us because he just spoke on the first question. You can watch his talk on YouTube (the link is on the Living with Myths website).

sneakergaze2 karma

Oh yes, I should check that out. Thank you!

LivingwithMyths5 karma

Gwee Li Sui helping to answer!: not sure what "the state of" Singapore literature means. popularly? economically? politically? aesthetically? experimentally? educationally? developmentally?

and yes, fictional works can inform our understanding of Singapore's history/ies. it can expose/educate/sway/confuse us on the subtle realities and potential of a time and its issues as they are lived.

are there any works that have stood out in this regard? so many! in English alone, here are a few: Lloyd Fernando's "Scorpion Orchid", Suchen Christine Lim's "The River's Song", Gopal Baratham's "A Candle or the Sky", Meira Chand's "A Different Sky"...

lizziechow3 karma

Hi, thank you for this! i know the session is over but my friend has some questions and for some reason, he's a bit shy to ask, so i'm asking on his behalf. they are as follows:

(1) Their speculation on what operation spectrum was about ? Neither the Marxist conspiracy nor catholic priests narrative makes any sense. 2) During the period leading up to Singapore's merger with Malaya - Did Tunku have a list of ppl that he wanted detained as a precondition to merger ? Did lky subsequently add lim chin siong's name to that list ? 3) was it true that lim yew hock lead ppl to believe or created a situation that made lim chin siong and Fong Swee Suan more responsible for the hock lee bus riot than was originally the case ? 4) were there really rumours that lky was responsible for the Bukit Ho Swee Fire ? 5) did Goh Keng Swee believe that Singapore should leave Malaysia and engineer for that to happen or was Singapore booted out ? Or both true ? How would this new narrative change the younger generation's view on Singapore's "independence" ? 6) when Singapore was part of Malaysia - did Malaysia start getting involved in Singapore's politics or was it the other way round ? Who started it ?

LivingwithMyths2 karma

Keep the questions rolling in. PJ and KS will be checking back, till 20 Sep.

LivingwithMyths2 karma

"I refer to original sin by Kumar Ramakrishna, it is professional for the author to quote sources from ISD. How can we verify that what were said in the ISD document is fact? Thanks!"

(on behalf of Chengmin Wang)

LivingwithMyths2 karma

"With more historical facts on subjects like Operation Coldstore coming out, do you see a day when the Spore government can no longer deny that their version is inaccurate and biased?"

(on behalf of bikergal)