Nostalgia, irony and collectivity in late-modern culture

Abstract

The paper seeks to promote a sociological understanding of the current wave of nostalgic expressions haunting late-modern Western culture and to re-evaluate the predominantly negative assessment of nostalgia. Filling two gaps in the existing research on nostalgia, the authors wish (1) to reintegrate into the phenomenon its experiential and collective dimensions and (2) to propose a theoretical sociological framework capable of analysing nostalgic ritual. In the first part of the paper, we discuss different approaches to the phenomenon of nostalgia. Second, we delve into the complex emotional and experiential aspects of the phenomenon and distil three different types of nostalgia. Third, seeking inspiration from Émile Durkheim and Randall Collins, we scrutinise the common collective characteristics of these different types of nostalgia. Arguing that Collins remains too interactionist in his approach to ritual, we seek to erect a theoretical framework apt for articulating mediated forms of nostalgic ritual. Fourth, we use our theoretical framework to analyse a well-known instance of nostalgic ritual in Scandinavia: The Disney Christmas Show.