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This chapter highlights important contributions from the field of sociology to the study of nostalgia. Sociology offers a unique and valuable perspective from which to study nostalgia. Sociologists are especially apt to emphasize that the conceptualizations, experiences and uses of nostalgia are variable. The foundational work of Fred Davis (Yearning for Yesterday: A Sociology of Nostalgia) in 1979, is considered the first truly sociological treatment of the phenomenon of nostalgia. Davis’ distinction between ‘private’ and ‘collective’ nostalgia as well as his identification of three successive orders of nostalgia (‘simple’, ‘reflexive’ and ‘interpretive’) provided a solid foundation for other sociologists interested in analyzing the complex and ambiguous emotion of nostalgia. Well before the work of Davis, early sociologists could be viewed as exploring aspects of nostalgia – at least in an indirect way – as evidenced in their focus on societal changes and psychosocial challenges brought about by the Industrial Revolution. Karl Marx’s discussion of alienation, Max Weber’s concerns about over-rationalisation, Émile Durkheim’s conceptualization of social solidarity, Ferdinand Tönnies’ distinction between Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft, and Georg Simmel’s description of objective and subjective culture all express dissatisfaction with the present and a sense of loss, which is at the heart of nostalgia. From the backdrop of these early sociologists, this chapter examines key sociological insights on nostalgia and, in so doing, discusses other relevant concepts such as meaning, memory, identity, social structure and politics. In this way, this chapter shows how sociological insights can shed light on the phenomenon of nostalgia on the micro, meso and macro levels of social analysis.

In a globalized world, the ability to travel and settle elsewhere than one’s native country is an opportunity open to still more people. Particularly with the rise of ‘retirement migration’ or ‘lifestyle migration’, increasing numbers of senior members move to foreign destinations in order to live the remaining parts of their lives. The reasons for leaving their home countries in the first place are diversified as are also their experienced upon arrival. However, nostalgia is an identifiable emotion among many expats or, in this article called ‘permanent tourists’, who may experience a longing for what they left behind. Based on a study in the city of Pattaya, Thailand, the author by way of informal meetings and conversations with Western expatriates explored their experiences of nostalgia as an everyday emotion relating to different parts of their lives and memories. The article shows how nostalgia is far from a one-dimensional emotional response to changing life-circumstances, but rather encompasses a variety of connotations, expressions and experiences. In a globalized world, the ability to travel and settle elsewhere than one’s native country is an oppor-tunity open to still more people. Particularly with the rise of ‘retirement migration’ or ‘lifestyle mi-gration’, increasing numbers of senior members move to foreign destinations in order to live the re-maining parts of their lives. The reasons for leaving their home countries in the first place are diver-sified as are also their experienced upon arrival. However, nostalgia is an identifiable emotion among many expats or, in this article called ‘permanent tourists’, who may experience a longing for what they left behind. Based on a study in the city of Pattaya, Thailand, the author by way of infor-mal meetings and conversations with Western expatriates explored their experiences of nostalgia as an everyday emotion relating to different parts of their lives and memories. The article shows how nostalgia is far from a one-dimensional emotional response to changing life-circumstances, but rather encompasses a variety of connotations, expressions and experiences.

This book explores the fertility and enigma of Erving Goffman’s sociological reasoning and its capacity to shed fresh light on the fundamental features of human sociality. Thematically arranged, it brings together the work of leading scholars of Goffman’s work to explore the concepts and themes that define Goffman’s analytical preoccupations, examining the ways these ideas have shaped significant fields of study and situating Goffman’s sociology in comparison to some eminent thinkers often linked with his name. Through a series of chapters informed by the same inventive and imaginative spirit characteristic of Goffman’s sociology, the book presents fresh perspectives on his contribution to the field and reveals the value of his thought for a variety of disciplines now increasingly aware of the importance of Goffman’s sociology to a range of social phenomena. A fresh perspective on the legacy of one of sociology’s most important figures, The Routledge International Handbook of Goffman Studies will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in interactionist and micro-sociological perspectives.

This chapter offers an important analysis of Zygmunt Bauman’s concept of retrotopia. While utopia and dystopia served as key themes throughout Bauman’s lifetime, the chapter considers retrotopia in the context of contemporary socio-political tensions. It also discusses the intertwining of nostalgia, ambivalence, and dystopia that offers a powerful theoretical framework for understanding the emotional characteristics of late modernity. The chapter explores the utopian roots of Bauman’s critical diagnosis of contemporary liquid-modern retrotopia and its different dystopian dimensions. It takes a brief look at how utopia and utopianism have been regarded within the social sciences and revisits Bauman’s early work on the ‘Socialist utopia’ as the counter-culture of capitalism.

In this postscript, the editor reflects on and draws on insights from the book’s preceding chapters on the status, development and future of nostalgia within the social sciences and humanities as well as within society in general. The postscript also discusses the notion of ‘the nostalgia for the future’ by claiming that there is no necessary or inherent opposition between nostalgia and the aspiration and determination to confront present or future challenges. Towards the end of the postscript, the editor speculates about the future of nostalgia by proposing different paths and avenues ahead for nostalgia. The postscript thus serves as a way to draw some general conclusions from the foregoing chapters of the book.

This article critically addresses the contemporary study of what is called'defensive emotions' such as fear and nostalgia among a number of socialtheorists. While it may be true that the collective emotions of fear andnostalgia (here framed by the phrase of 'retrotopia') may indeed be on therise in Western liberal democracies, it is also important to be wary of takingthe literature on the matter as a sign that fear and nostalgia actually permeateall levels of culture and everyday life. The article starts out with somereflections on the sociology of emotions and shows how the early interest inemotions (theoretical and empirical) among a small group of sociologists istoday supplemented with the rise of a critical social theory using collectiveemotions as a lens for conducting a critical analysis of the times. Then thearticle in turn deals with the contemporary interest within varuious quartersof the social sciences with describing, analysing and diagnosing the rise ofwhat is here called 'defensive emotions' – emotions that express andsymbolize a society under attack and emotions that are mostly interpreted asnegative signs of the times. This is followed by some reflections on thecollective emotions of fear and nostalgia/retrotopia respectively. The articleis concluded with a discussion of how we may understand and assess thisrelatively new interest in defensive emotions. This article critically addresses the contemporary study of what is called 'defensive emotions' such as fear and nostalgia among a number of social theorists. While it may be true that the collective emotions of fear and nostalgia (here framed by the phrase of 'retrotopia') may indeed be on the rise in Western liberal democracies, it is also important to be wary of taking the literature on the matter as a sign that fear and nostalgia actually permeate all levels of culture and everyday life. The article starts out with some reflections on the sociology of emotions and shows how the early interest in emotions (theoretical and empirical) among a small group of sociologists is today supplemented with the rise of a critical social theory using collective emotions as a lens for conducting a critical analysis of the times. Then the article in turn deals with the contemporary interest within varuious quarters of the social sciences with describing, analysing and diagnosing the rise of what is here called 'defensive emotions' – emotions that express and symbolize a society under attack and emotions that are mostly interpreted as negative signs of the times. This is followed by some reflections on the collective emotions of fear and nostalgia/retrotopia respectively. The article is concluded with a discussion of how we may understand and assess this relatively new interest in defensive emotions.

This is an interview with Tony Walter dealing with his life-long career in studying death and dying

In this introductory chapter, the main purpose is to introduce the notion and emotion of nostalgia and to illustrate how it has developed within our culture ever since it was first conceived. The chapter distinguishes between ‘nostophiles’ and ‘nostophobics’ as well as shows how we live in an ‘age of nostalgia’. Moreover, we will trace nostalgia from its original roots to contemporary ideas within everyday life and politics. There will also be a focus on how the topic of nostalgia, previously far from a popular research theme, has experienced nothing less than a revival within social science and humanities studies and also within popular culture throughout the past decade. Finally, the introductory chapter will outline the purpose, structure and content of the volume.

Not so many years ago, it was commonplace to describe death and grief as so-called ‘tabooed topics’ – something to be kept behind closed doors and not to be put on display or paraded in public. According to many researchers, this was the age of forbidden death and hidden grief. Something quite extraordinary has happened since then. In recent years – in social life, within popular culture and social research – grief has re-surfaced as a topic of much publicity and debate. If the 1990s was the decade of ethics and the 2000s was the decade of anxiety (in the post-9/11 world), then the 2010s is the age of grief and memorialisation. Grief is no longer a privatised and socially sequestrated phenomenon. Rather, grief, in many ways, has become spectacular. In this chapter, the authors document and discuss three main trends in the contemporary culture of ‘spectacular grief’: individualisation/singularisation, professionalisation/commercialisation and memorialisation/mediatisation. Firstly, in an age of individualisation and ‘singularity’ (Andreas Reckwitz’s notion), death and grief increasingly become a personal affront, an attack on the very core of being, that we individually have to deal with. Second, following this, processes of professionalisation/commercialisation have meant that grief is also increasingly becoming an ‘industry’ that is promoted and handled by a variety of interest groups supposed to help individuals cope with death and grief. Thirdly, in a culture of expressivity, grief is now an emotion that we are expected to share with, and show to, others through new commemoration and memorialisation practices, some of which are particularly connected to the rise of new information technologies and social media.

For most parts of human history, death was an integral part of life, something that prehistoric and premodern man had no other option than to live with as best as possible. According to historians, death was familiar and tamed, it was at the center of social and cultural life. With the coming of modern secular society, death was increasingly sequestrated and tabooed, moved to the outskirts of society, made invisible and forbidden. Death became a stranger, and the prevalent attitude towards death was that of alienation. At the threshold of the 21st century, the topic of death again began to attract attention, becoming part of a revived death attitude described as &lsquo, Spectacular Death&rsquo, In the article, the authors diagnose, analyze, and discuss the impact of the return of death during the current &lsquo, Corona Crisis&rsquo, arguing that despite the fact that the concern with death is at the very core of the management of the crisis, death as such remains largely invisible. In order to provide such a diagnosis of the times, the authors initially revisit the prevailing death attitudes in the Western world from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Introduction: in times of nostalgia: the brave new world of a grand old emotion Michael Hviid Jacobsen Part 1: Conceptual and theoretical perspectives on nostalgia 1. Nostalgia: the paradoxical bittersweet emotion Krystine Irene Batcho 2. The psychology of nostalgia: delineating the emotion's nature and functions Tim Wildschut and Constantine Sedikides 3. Future imaginings: nostalgia for unrealized possible selves Janelle L. Wilson 4. Retrotopia rising: the topics of utopia, retrotopia and nostalgia in the sociology of Zygmunt Bauman Michael Hviid Jacobsen Part 2: Memory, politics and social critique in a mediatised era 5. Dangerous memories: nostalgia and the historical sublime Steven T. Ostovich 6. The dilemmas of radical nostalgia: acknowledging the power of the past in the politics of the Left Alastair Bonnett 7. The political staging of nostalgia: neo-Ottomanism in contemporary Turkey Yagmur Karakaya 8. The future of nostalgia is inevitable: reflections on mediated nostalgia Ryan Lizardi Part 3: Consumerism, migration and everyday life 9. The darkside of nostalgic bonds: moral motivators of consumer identities, decisions and behaviours Stacey Menzel Baker and Courtney Nations Azzari 10. Transmigratory nostalgia: sentimentality and everyday life on the Japan Exchange and Teaching programme Sharleen Estampador-Hughson 11. Living in nostalgia: exploring expatriate experiences of everyday nostalgia in Pattaya Michael Hviid Jacobsen

Qualitative research does not represent a monolithic, agreed-on approach to research but is a vibrant and contested field with many contradictions and different perspectives. To respect the multivoicedness of qualitative research, this chapter will approach its history in the plural—as a variety of histories. The chapter will work polyvocally and focus on six histories of qualitative research, which are sometimes overlapping, sometimes in conflict, and sometimes even incommensurable. They can be considered articulations of different discourses about the history of the field, which compete for researchers’ attention. The six histories are: (a) the conceptual history of qualitative research, (b) the internal history of qualitative research, (c) the marginalizing history of qualitative research, (d) the repressed history of qualitative research, (e) the social history of qualitative research, and (f) the technological history of qualitative research.

BACKGROUND: Sexual dysfunction is common in patients diagnosed with cancer or chronic disease, having psychological, emotional and social ramifications. The consequences are ultimately significant impaired quality of life and reduced mental well-being, and it therefore requires professional attention. However, evidence suggests that sexuality is a taboo subject in the healthcare system, as healthcare professionals and patients rarely initiate conversations on this subject.AIM: Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand how patients diagnosed with cancer or chronic disease experiencing sexual dysfunction experience sexuality as a taboo subject in the healthcare system.METHODS: Ten women diagnosed with cancer or chronic disease experiencing sexual dysfunction were recruited from the Sexological Centre in Aalborg, Denmark. Using an interview guide, semi-structured interviews were conducted and a qualitative thematic analysis was performed.RESULTS: The analysis revealed that sexuality is a sensitive and taboo subject in the Danish healthcare system. Some patients initiated conversations about their sexuality, but felt rejected by healthcare professionals, who dismissed these initiatives, whereas other patients were reluctant to discuss sexuality, but did not experience healthcare professionals bringing up sexuality either. Despite these differences between patients' experiences, sexuality constituted a taboo subject, as patients or healthcare professionals deliberately avoided discussing the patients' sexuality-related issues.CONCLUSIONS: Communication about sexuality is essential for improving patients' well-being, and healthcare professionals should routinely address sexuality and sexual intimacy with patients diagnosed with cancer or chronic disease in order to break the taboo and accommodate patients' needs.