Those who come after

postmemory, acknowledgement and forgiveness

Stephen Frosh

This book explores the legacies of suffering in relation to ‘those who come after’ – the descendants of victims, survivors and perpetrators of traumatic events. It draws on recent discussions of ‘postmemory’ and ‘haunting’ that are concerned mainly with the transgenerational impact of personal and social trauma. It examines how we are connected to past events for which we have no direct responsibility yet in which we might in some way be ‘implicated’ and it asks how we might attain a position of active witnessing that helps resolve the suffering of others. Those Who Come After includes vivid accounts of witnessing from a variety of perspectives, ranging from Biblical and Jewish stories to contemporary art and music. The book draws on psychosocial studies and psychoanalysis to help make sense of this material and to develop an understanding of acknowledgment and responsibility that is both ethical and emancipatory. Those Who Come After will be of great interest to readers in psychosocial studies and psychoanalysis and to all who are concerned with the question of how to put past suffering to rest. Stephen Frosh is Professor in the Department of Psychosocial Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, UK. He was previously a consultant clinical psychologist at the Tavistock Clinic, London, UK. He is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, an academic associate of the British Psychoanalytical Society, a founding member of the Association of Psychosocial Studies, and an honorary member of the Institute of Group Analysis. He is the author of many books and papers on psychosocial studies and on psychoanalysis, including Hauntings and The Politics of Psychoanalysis.