Nostalgia

Language: English

"(from nostos – return home, and algia – longing) is a longing for a home that no longer exists or has never existed. Nostalgia is a sentiment of loss and displacement, but it is also a romance with one’s own fantasy" (Boym 2001: xiii)

Boym distinguishes between restorative and reflective nostalgia (Boym 1994: 283-91; Boym 2001: xii-xix, 41-55): the first is utopian and dwells on rebuilding the past, while the latter emphasises the memory of the past.
‘Restorative nostalgia puts emphasis on nostos and proposes to rebuild the lost home and patch up the memory gaps. Reflective nostalgia dwells in algia, in longing and loss, the imperfect process of remembrance’ (Boym 2001: 41).

Andrei Tarkovskii's film Nostalghia (1983, Russia and Italy) visually renders the longing for a different space and time by superimposing images of past and present, Italy and Russia.

References:

Boym, Svetlana (1994), Common Places, Cambridge MA and London: Harvard University Press.
Boym, Svetlana (2001), The Future of Nostalgia, New York: Basic Books.

Posted by Birgit Beumers on 15 Jan 2008 • Comment on this term