The Future of Nostalgia

Can one be nostalgic for the home one never had? Why is it that the age of globalization is accompanied by a no less global epidemic of nostalgia? Can we know what we are nostalgic for? In the seventeenth century, Swiss doctors believed that opium, leeches, and a trek through the Alps would cure nostalgia. In 1733 a Russian commander, disgusted with the debilitating homesickness rampant among his troops, buried a soldier alive as a deterrent to nostalgia. In her new book, Svetlana Boym develops a comprehensive approach to this elusive ailment. Combining personal memoir, philosophical essay, and historical analysis, Boym explores the spaces of collective nostalgia that connect national biography and personal self-fashioning in the twenty-first century. She guides us through the ruins and construction sites of post-communist cities -- St. Petersburg, Moscow, Berlin, and Prague-and the imagined homelands of exiles-Benjamin, Nabokov, Mandelstam, and Brodsky. From Jurassic Park to the Totalitarian Sculpture Garden, from love letters on Kafka's grave to conversations with Hitler's impersonator, Boym unravels the threads of this global epidemic of longing and its antidotes. Why Is It That The Age Of Globalization Is Accompanied By A No Less Global Epidemic Of Nostalgia? What Happens To Old World Memories In A New World Order? Do We Even Know What We Are Nostalgic For? Combining Philosophical Essay, Aesthetic Analysis And Personal Memoir, Boym Explores The Spaces Of Collective Nostalgia, National Myths And The Personal Stories Of Exiles. She Guides Us Through The Ruins And Construction Sites Of Post-communist Cities Such As St. Petersburg, Moscow And Berlin, Explores The Imagined Homelands Of Writers And Artists Like Vladimir Nabokov, Joseph Brodsky And Ilya Kabakov And Examines The Souvenir Collections Of Ordinary Immigrants. In Short, Boym Has Written A New Kind Of Encyclopedic Meditation That Captures The Mysteries And Rhythms Of Longing, A Calendar That Schedules Out Of Time Daydreaming And A Treatise That Diagnoses Our Global Epidemic Of Longing And Its Antidotes.--jacket. Introduction: Taboo On Nostalgia? -- Pt. 1. Hypochondria Of The Heart: Nostalgia, History And Memory. 1. From Cured Soldiers To Incurable Romantics: Nostalgia And Progress. 2. The Angel Of History: Nostalgia And Modernity. 3. The Dinosaur: Nostalgia And Popular Culture. 4. Restorative Nostalgia: Conspiracies And Return To Origins. 5. Reflective Nostalgia: Virtual Reality And Collective Memory. 6. Nostalgia And Post-communist Memory -- Pt. 2. Cities And Re-invented Traditions. 7. Archeology Of Metropolis. 8. Moscow, The Russian Rome. 9. St. Petersburg, The Cosmopolitan Province. 10. Berlin, The Virtual Capital. 11. Europa's Eros -- Pt. 3. Exiles And Imagined Homelands. 12. On Diasporic Intimacy. 13. Vladimir Nabokov's False Passport. Svetlana Boym. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 357-389) And Index. Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Taboo on Nostalgia? Part 1. Hypochondria of the Heart: Nostalgia, History and Memory 1. From Cured Soldiers to Incurable Romantics: Nostalgia and Progress 2. The Angel of History: Nostalgia and Modernity 3. The Dinosaur: Nostalgia and Popular Culture 4. Restorative Nostalgia: Conspiracies and Return to Origins 5. Reflective Nostalgia: Virtual Reality and Collective Memory 6. Nostalgia and Post-Communist Memory Part 2. Cities and Re-Invented Traditions 7. Archeology of Metropolis 8. Moscow, the Russian Rome 9. St. Petersburg, the Cosmopolitan Province 10. Berlin, the Virtual Capital 11. Europa's Eros Part 3. Exiles and Imagined Homelands 12. On Diasporic Intimacy 13. Vladimir Nabokov's False Passport 14. Joseph Brodsky's Room and a Half 15. Illya Kabakov's Toilet 16. Immigrant Souvenirs 17. Aesthetic Individualism and the Ethics of Nostalgia Conclusion: Nostalgia and Global Culture: From Outer Space to Cyberspace Notes Index "Why is it that the age of globalization is accompanied by a no less global epidemic of nostalgia? What happens to Old World memories in a New World order? Do we even know what we are nostalgic for?" "Combining philosophical essay, aesthetic analysis and personal memoir, Boym explores the spaces of collective nostalgia, national myths and the personal stories of exiles. She guides us through the ruins and construction sites of post-communist cities such as St. Petersburg, Moscow and Berlin, explores the imagined homelands of writers and artists like Vladimir Nabokov, Joseph Brodsky and Ilya Kabakov and examines the souvenir collections of ordinary immigrants. In short, Boym has written a new kind of encyclopedic meditation that captures the mysteries and rhythms of longing, a calendar that schedules out of time daydreaming and a treatise that diagnoses our global epidemic of longing and its antidotes."-- Site de l'éditeur Combining personal memoir, philosophical essay, and historical analysis, Svetlana Boym explores the spaces of collective nostalgia that connect national biography and personal self-fashioning in the twenty-first century. She guides us through the ruins and construction sites of post-communist cities--St. Petersburg, Moscow, Berlin, and Prague--and the imagined homelands of exiles-Benjamin, Nabokov, Mandelstahm, and Brodsky. From Jurassic Park to the Totalitarian Sculpture Garden, Boym unravels the threads of this global epidemic of longing and its antidotes. Combining personal memoir, philosophical essay, and historical analysis, Svetlana Boym explores the spaces of collective nostalgia that connect national biography and personal self-fashioning in the 21st century