Concept

The Tree

The tree depicted is indeed a Banyan tree. Why a Banyan tree? A clue - George Yeo, 1991.

The Citizen Historian

Heard of the term citizen journalist? Well, a citizen historian is the same - except maybe taking their time about it, and getting to use bigger words. A citizen historian is simply a person who takes it upon herself or himself to write histories. They may be big volumes, they may be scribbled blog entries somewhere - but the overall result is the same - the action of recording and analysing to create narratives.

And these people are valuable, because they tap into the ground and into the little stories that are around. There’s power in numbers, and that’s what citizen historians have - the strength of the collective, recording and remembering and researching more than any one professional can do. And in a place like Singapore, where the real histories are in people’s heads, tapping into this collective memory is particularly important. Professional historians are always needed, of course, but that doesn’t mean the laymen shouldn’t get involved.

History belongs to everyone.

Amateurism & Responsibility

The phrase in the masthead is sampled from one of Edward Said’s lectures on the Representation of the Intellectual. Said sees “amateurism” as “an activity that is fueled by care and affection rather than by profit and selfish, narrow specialization.”

While the selfish and narrow side of professional life is not openly desired, it is also somehow not enough to live our lives with a devil-may-care attitude - at least perhaps not for those of us who have been fortunate enough to pursue higher education.

There should be a greater sense of “giving back” to society, a sense of amateurism. It is important to realise that our attainment of that Ph.D or MA is by no means a purely individual effort. We are provided with funds derived from society, references and advice from our mentors, and love and support from family and friends. So yes, seen from this perspective, we do owe society something.

This is where the idea of responsibility comes in. As scholars of our chosen discipline cum profession, we have dues to pay to the intellectual community we choose to enter - (History in this case). As professional citizens, we too have dues to pay - not only to our family and benefactors, but also to society in general.

Said also suggests that the intellectual could act as authority’s “unrewarded, amateurish conscience.” Rather than let hard-earned knowledge and hard-won arguments gather dust on never-to-be-seen bookshelves, it is a citizen historian’s responsibility to find meaningful ways to participate in the society he or she works and lives in.

- by Ho Chi Tim and Sarah Ismail, editors.