Svetlana Boym
2008-08-05
From an award-winning cultural theorist, the classic work on the intricate relationship between longing and belonging
“A remarkable book… brilliant.”―New York Times
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 The Future of Nostalgia, 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.
Boym's exploration of nostalgia is an intellectual joyride. It's a deep dive into this complex emotion, which feels more relevant than ever in our fast-paced digital age. Each chapter unpacks different layers of nostalgia, from political to personal, and it's all delivered with a refreshing blend of academic rigour and cultural critique. It's the kind of read that makes you look at your own memories through a new lens. If you're someone who treasures the past while living in the present, this one's for you.
