Sociology and Nostalgia

The interest in nostalgia by now has quite a longstanding history within the social sciences and social philosophy, relating particularly to the period during the transition from traditional to modern society – the same time when sociology also began to develop as a distinct discipline. Sociology is the self-declared ‘science of society’. Despite this, sociology and nostalgia are not two conventionally closely related topics. In fact, until quite recently the sociological interest in and work on nostalgia was quite limited. In recent years, however, it seems as if sociologists have begun to see nostalgia as an opportune prism for understanding many different aspects and dimensions of contemporary society. This chapter provides an overview of some sociological – and sociologically related – ideas on nostalgia both from a conceptual, theoretical and empirical perspective. First we will look into the relationship between sociology and nostalgia. This is followed by an introduction to the pioneering work on nostalgia by Fred Davis. This leads to some more recent attempts by Svetlana Boym and Zygmunt Bauman to conceptualize the social presence and changing importance of nostalgia from a more socio-political perspective. Here we will look at the notions of ‘restorative’ and ‘reflective’ nostalgia as well as ‘retrotopia’. Following this, the idea of nostalgia as a ‘sanctuary of meaning’ by Janelle L. Wilson will be introduced. Finally, we will briefly look at some recent sociological attempts at studying nostalgia within a number of specific sociological research fields. The chapter thus provides an initial attempt – however not exhaustive – at showing the connection between nostalgia and sociology.