Join us for an engaging colloquium on Monday, May 5, from 16:15 to 17:45 (in person) at Freie Universität Berlin, FMI, Room A336 (Koserstr. 20, 14195 Berlin).

Convened by Sebastian Conrad, Michael Goebel, and Isabella Löhr, the session promises stimulating discussions in an academic setting.

We look forward to seeing you there!

About the Lecture:

Over the course of British colonial rule in Malaya, the Peranakan Chinese (hereafter referred to as Peranakan) attempted to bring to life a complex imagination of nationhood predicated on an inclusive and multi-ethnic approach to integrating Malaya’s plural society. A creolized community borne of intermarriage between Chinese migrants and indigenous Malays, Peranakan ideas of nationhood and belonging were influenced by their liminality. In word and deed, Peranakan political actors campaigned for the extension of citizenship rights to all those domiciled in Malaya regardless of race, class, or religion. Yet, this political history has largely been overlooked. In examining the Peranakan imaginary of the nation, Imagining Malaya explores one of the many alternatives of a Malayan nation that were imagined—and were possible at one point or another—that have yet to be studied. Centring the Peranakan into Malaysia’s story of decolonization and nation-making, it casts a new light on Malaysia’s path to nationhood and who is included—and excluded—within that story.

Bernard Z. Keo is an historian of modern Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on the intertwined processes of decolonisation and nation-making in the post-World War II period. His further research interests include the Malayan Emergency, urban life in the port-cities of Southeast Asia, and transnational networks across the Malay World.

Please see our Code of Conduct that applies to all Global History Events: