Nostalgia, and what it used to be

The sociology of nostalgia

Nostalgia is not a conventional topic of sociological analysis, and sociologists writing on nostalgia often rely on insights on the topic generated in neighboring disciplines. However, there is in fact relevant sociological work on nostalgia conducted by sociologists, and this article reviews is. Illustative examples of sociological topics relating to nostalgia are as follows: nostalgia and the past, examining how historical recollection or reconstruction and memory shape nostalgia, nostalgia and experiences of personal and cultural loss; nostalgia and individual or collective identity; nostalgia and social change; and nostalgia and politics.

Nostalgia, media, and technologies of the future

The relation between nostalgia and media is imbricated. Media-used in institutions, industry, or technology-can be a platform for expressing nostalgia, but they can also be the object of nostalgia. This relation makes media a complex and interesting domain to study from a psychological, historical, cultural, environmental, or social perspective on nostalgia. Moreover, nostalgia has been intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic, and media texts as well as social networks have helped to heal personal and collective moments of crisis by providing resources to actively rethink the past and the future. This paper discusses the (historically) profound relations between media, technologies and nostalgia.