Belonging from afar: nostalgia, time and memory

Abstract

Belonging is a fundamentally temporal experience that is anchored not only in place but also time, yet this dimension of belonging has so far remained under-researched. Based on an analysis of 25 British Mass Observation Project accounts I argue that a focus on the temporal location of belonging contributes to our knowledge about how memory is used to create a sense of belonging, and the consequences this has for the self. The paper is structured around two interrelated arguments. First, that the temporal location of belonging -either in the past or the present -has consequences for how time is experienced and how memory is utilised in creating a sense of belonging. Second, that nostalgic belonging from afar, of which three types are identified in the MOP accounts, should not be understood merely as a way of disengaging with the present. Past sources of belonging can endure in a virtual sense through the act of nurturing the connection in memories and can be used to 'warm up' and give vitality to the present. Thus this paper contributes to our understanding of how people can creatively use different forms of temporal belonging to create a sense of a continuous self.

Formations of belonging inAustralia: The role of nostalgia in experiences of time and place

“…In so doing, we contribute to the existing literature on nostalgia, which has focused almost exclusively on national forms of belonging, by using the concept to address small‐scale, everyday experiences. Further, although we acknowledge that nostalgia has often been associated with a “sense of loss,” a yearning for an idealised past, we agree with Vanessa May's (, p. 404) recent contention that nostalgia, along with the memories that it evokes, can be used as a “technique to bring warmth and vitality to the present.” Thus, we demonstrate how nostalgia can be a mechanism or strategy for ensuring continuity between past and present in a way that facilitates attachment to place in contexts otherwise shaped by rapid social change.…”

“…The term “nostalgia,” drawn from the Greek words nostos (home) and algia (pain or sorrow), was originally coined to describe a pathological longing for one's home country. Its common use has, however, broadened to include, in the words of May (, p. 404), “a general sense of loss and regret, a kind of mourning for the impossibility of return because the longed‐for object of one's desire exists ‘somewhere in the twilight of the past,’ unattainable.” As May observes, nostalgia has often been conceptualised as the product of some degree of unhappiness with the present in favour of a preferred, often idealised past (see Byrne, ). Against such a reading, Pickering and Keightley () have suggested that nostalgia has multiple modalities, meaning that although its expression can be purely conservative or melancholic in character, this does not preclude an experience of nostalgia that is positive and affirming in the present.…”

“…Against such a reading, Pickering and Keightley () have suggested that nostalgia has multiple modalities, meaning that although its expression can be purely conservative or melancholic in character, this does not preclude an experience of nostalgia that is positive and affirming in the present. We draw on this plural conceptualisation of nostalgia in the present article and, in so doing, explore the emotionality that our participants associate with it, taking seriously the possibility that it may “enliven” the present, as May () has suggested, even while it necessarily anchors them to the past.…”

“…On the contrary, these participants used their experiences of nostalgia to inform their desires for their children's lives. As such, their experiences of nostalgia represented “critical interventions in the present” that acknowledge the past as a source of “renewal and satisfaction” in their present lives, as well as those of their children (May, , p. 404).…”

“…The accounts presented in this section point to the critical role that memories play in anchoring the self in the present. As May (, p. 402) astutely argues, “memory is a crucial part of the ‘unending work of selfhood.’” Jennifer's use of memory as an anchor for place attachment was also reminiscent of Connerton's () conception of social memory, as she volunteered for approximately 20 hr each week at the tennis club that she had attended for the majority of her life. Through her volunteering Jennifer engaged with a key site in which nostalgic childhood memories had been forged in a way that was both embodied and social.…”