This week we are discussing nostalgia, reading the first chapter of Svetlana Boym’s The Future of Nostalgia (2001). Boym explores the roots of the term in medical practice, working through historical instances and ways of understanding nostalgia. Many thanks to Will Carroll for suggesting our reading this week.
- Svetlana Boym, “From Cured Soldiers to Incurable Romantics”, in The Future of Nostalgia (2001) (PDF – password protected access).
“The spread of nostalgia had to do not only with dislocation in space but also with the changing conception of time… Modern nostalgia is a mourning for the impossibility of mythical return, for the loss of an enchanted world with clear borders and values; it could be a secular expression of a spiritual longing, a nostalgia for an absolute, a home that is both physical and spiritual, the edenic unity of time and space before entry into history.” (Boym, The Future of Nostalgia, p.8)
Time & Place:
- 15:00-16:00, Wed 12 Dec 2018
- Shackleton Room (Arts 439)
About the Doctoral Seminar:
This is an informal weekly reading group run for postgraduates within the Department of English Literature. We select a short text to read in advance, often a work of theory, then meet to discuss it. The seminar provides an opportunity to consider aspects of the reading that were thought-provoking or challenging for you, think about how it relates to texts you may have studied or plan to read, and share aspects of your own research and academic practice. It’s also a chance to get together, try out ideas, and meet fellow postgraduate researchers. There will be tea, coffee and biscuits and you are very welcome!
For access to readings, please email Dorothy Butchard (d.butchard@bham.ac.uk).
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