Keynote Panel

The Future of "Hong Kong History" as a Public Interest and Discipline

“Hong Kong History” has been gaining enormous public interest in recent years, especially on the city’s colonial past. When the permanent exhibition of the Hong Kong Museum of History closed for a revamp last October, thousands of people flocked to the museum to see it for one last time. Some took photos of almost every corner of the museum as if Hong Kong’s history would be lost forever. Many young history enthusiasts established social media pages and websites to discuss and promote “Hong Kong History”. These pages cover a wide range of topics, ranging from military history to architectural history to the history of a neighbourhood. Meanwhile, more and more historians and postgraduate students are studying the history of Hong Kong. In the past decade, we saw the opening of the Hong Kong Studies programme at the University of Hong Kong, and the founding of the Hong Kong History Project at University of Bristol and the Hong Kong Studies Initiative at the University of British Columbia. So, how should we apprehend the recent popularity of “Hong Kong History” and what is the future of this subject in the public sphere and academia? We hope this panel will inspire you to reaccess the value and role of “Hong Kong History”. 

Speakers

Reynold Tsang
(Moderator)

Dr Vivian Kong

Haidee Or

Prof John D Wong

April 10 (Sat)
10:00–11:00 (GMT+1)
17:00–18:00 (GMT+8)

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