William L. Gibson, Ph.D

In parallel to two decades of teaching and administration work in higher-education in Singapore and Indonesia, Dr. Gibson has published numerous books and articles including peer-reviewed journals, fiction, non-fiction, translation, as well as online journalism. His biography of French journalist Alfred Raquez was published in 2021 as part of the Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia series. He is also the author of a trilogy of historical novels set in Singapore published by Monsoon Books.

In 2024, Dr. Gibson’s multi-year research into the keramat phenomenon culminated in Keramat, Sacred Relics and Forbidden Idols in Singapore, published by Routledge as part of their Contemporary Southeast Asia series. This groundbreaking study blends documentary and site-specific research methods with meta-analysis of folklore that resituates the position of keramat as important if contested heritage objects.

Dr. Gibson is continuing his research into the intersection between heritage industries and the keramat phenomenon by examining contested vernacular sacred sites across the Nusantara region.