LIFE AFTER DEATH: POSTHUMOUS KINSHIP AMONG BEREAVED CHRISTIAN FAMILIES IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Drawing on insights from a comparative study between two Singaporean Chinese families in the Christian faith, this thesis studies the development of posthumous kinship ties in bereaved families, underpinned by the theoretical frameworks of symbolic interactionism and family systems theory. In my study, I first uncover how kinship was continually expressed between bereaved kin members with their deceased after their death. Due to the effects of their kin member’s deaths, surviving kin members had experienced varying forms of grief based on their kinship with the deceased. I document the developments in these unique forms of grief, and their spill-over effects into the practice of kinship among surviving kin members themselves within the bereaved family system. As kinship ties among bereaved kin members become strengthened/strained in response to the death of their deceased, my study illustrates how the dynamics that govern and organise kinship between the two families evolve posthumously over time amidst their bereavement. Building on existing theoretical frameworks, my thesis contributes a cultural-based elaboration on death and grief, so as to address the socio-cultural context of posthumous kinship among bereaved Singaporean Chinese families in the Christian faith. In all, this thesis aspires to illuminate the complexities underpinning the development of posthumous kinship ties within bereaved families, with an appreciation of the impact of larger, socio-cultural forces on personal and familial interpretations of death, loss and grief.