Dark Traces of the Past : Psychoanalysis and Historical Thinking

The relationship between historical studies and psychoanalysis remains an open debate that is full of tension, in both a positive and a negative sense. In particular, the following question has not been answered satisfactorily: what distinguishes a psychoanalytically oriented study of historical realities from a historical psychoanalysis? Skepticism and fear of collaboration dominate on both sides. Initiating a productive dialogue between historical studies and psychoanalysis seems to be plagued by ignorance and, at times, a sense of helplessness. Interdisciplinary collaborations are rare. Empirical research, formulation of theory, and the development of methods are essentially carried out within the conventional disciplinary boundaries. This volume undertakes to overcome these limitations by combining psychoanalytical and historical perspectives and thus exploring the underlying “unconscious” dimensions and by informing academic and nonacademic forms of historical memory. Moreover, it puts special emphasis on transgenerational forms of remembrance, on the notion of trauma as a key concept in this field, and on case studies that point the way to further research. Contents List of Figures Preface to the Series Psychoanalysis, History, and Historical Studies Part I. The Construction of Memory and Historical Consciousness Chapter 1. Three Memory Anchors Chapter 2. Origin and Ritualization of Historical Awareness Chapter 3. Identity, Overvaluation and Representing Forgetting Part II. Shoah Chapter 4. Transgenerational Trauma, Identification, and Historical Consciousness Chapter 5. On the Myth of Objective Research after Auschwitz Chapter 6. Understanding Transgenerational Transmission Part III. Case Studies in Psychoanalysis and Literary Critics Chapter 7. On Social and Psychological Foundations of Anti-Semitism Chapter 8. From Religious Fantasies of Omnipotence to Scientific Myths of Emancipation Chapter 9. Working toward a Discourse of Shame Bibliography Notes on the Contributors Index