Building Historical Awareness Through Knowledge and Communities: A Framework for Public History in Bandung Indonesia

This study aims to determine the historical awareness of community members in Greater Bandung using a survey method. The population of this study are 205 community members in Greater Bandung, namely the SMKAA, KOMPAS, Bandung Heritage, and Aleut. The sample of this study are 138 members of the community. The data collection technique uses a questionnaire related to historical awareness and interviews. The data analysis technique uses descriptive quantitative analysis, which consisted of central tendency calculations, frequency tables, and bar chart diagrams. The result of this study shows that individuals in the SMKAA and Aleut exhibit low knowledge on dimension of history, disseminating information or historical facts. Meanwhile, the Bandung Heritage Community and KOMPAS consecutively have a medium and higher dimension of knowledge. The Greater Bandung shows a low level of knowledge about cultural preservation efforts in historical communities. These communities need to organize historical events that bring the past’s cultural atmosphere, sentiments, ideas, and mentalities to the present, which is helpful as a page and learning tool for the future. Historical communities need to increase the dissemination of historical information or facts along with the massive information developing in the 21st century. Social media can disseminate historical information quickly and at minimal cost. The dissemination of historical information through social media is a process that stems from the public that forms historical knowledge. The preservation aspect requires consistent efforts, with strict regulations and support from external parties.