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Towards a Critical Alternative Scholarship on the Discourse of Representation, Identity and Multiculturalism in Sarawak

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Borneo Studies in History, Society and Culture

Part of the book series: Asia in Transition ((AT,volume 4))

Abstract

This chapter represents a critical overview of current scholarship on the issues of representation, identity and multiculturalism in Sarawak. It examines works by anthropologists and scholars from other disciplines (political science, law and social work), established and young, local and from outside, whose contributions have been foregrounded on concrete empirical research. Inspired primarily by theoretical nuances from cultural studies, these alternative writings attempt to pluralise and decentre discourses on Sarawak society and culture. They seek to problematise and contest the dominant contemporary discourse by articulating fluidity, agency, alternative representations and reconstruction of identities from the margins of society and the nation-state. At the core of the discourse, these studies interrogate and problematise multiculturalism in the context of Sarawak from the concrete historical experience of specific ethnic communities. Since multiculturalism also touches on other relevant epistemological questions, issues of representation, identity formation, including ethnicity, logically become indispensable components and subtexts, requiring their own respective and autonomous space for deliberation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

    Zawawi Ibrahim

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  1. Zawawi Ibrahim
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Correspondence to Zawawi Ibrahim .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam

    Victor T. King

  2. Professor of Anthropology, Institute of Asian Studies and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam

    Zawawi Ibrahim

  3. Lecturer at Geography and Development and Environmental Studies, Institute of Asian Studies and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Gadong, Brunei Darussalam

    Noor Hasharina Hassan

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Zawawi Ibrahim (2017). Towards a Critical Alternative Scholarship on the Discourse of Representation, Identity and Multiculturalism in Sarawak. In: King, V., Ibrahim, Z., Hassan, N. (eds) Borneo Studies in History, Society and Culture. Asia in Transition, vol 4. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0672-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0672-2_3

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