Wolters and Smali are some of the historians who have discussed much of Southeast Asia studies. However, they differ in their opinions and thus have different views of Southeast Asia history. According to Wolters, Southeast Asia ought to be considered as a field of study. His perception specially derived from his view of the culture of the people of this region. He defends his case by presenting eight patterns or cultural features that influenced the people of Southeast Asia, thus leading to their history.
The first feature is that the people dwelled only in the present without any consideration of the past while the second showed that the people had to be up-to-date with everything. The third addresses globalization, which was brought about by the need for being up-to-date. He next discusses the failure of having a stable and centralized government. All these influences the history of Southeast Asia and the features made the place a unique place that needed to be studied.
Smali, on the other hand, advocates for autonomous history. According to him, historical events occurred as a result of internal dynamics such as tension or conflict. He gives an example of the Dutch intrusion in Aceh. He identified that some tension existed between the secular and religious elite that had existed for a long time. The tension, according to him, can be explained as the course of the war, not the Dutch intrusion. The main difference between Wolters and Smali is their view on the importance of the people’s history. According to Wolters, the history of these people would help to explain why people behaved the way they did and this would be important to the rest of the world as it applied to other culture. However, according to Smali, the importance of the people’s history was the identification of internal dynamics and explaining them as the cause of historical events.
Despite the fact that Wolters and Smali have a different perspective on Southeast Asia Studies, there is one particular point where both agree. It is the importance of these people’s history. According to Wolters, the people’s history is so important that it need to be studied and understood by another person. According to Smali, the people’s history is important as it helps explain what causes war and tension among the people.
Work Cited
Ileto, R. (2011). On the Historiography of Southeast Asia and the Philippines: The “Golden Age” of Southeast Asian Studies - Experiences and Reflections. National University of Singapore.
