"Dear Classroom, Long Time No See...": Activating Nostalgia to Reconcile Students' Emotional Complexities Through Anthropomorphized Letter Writing.

The abrupt shift to remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected students' emotional well-being and their relationship with pedagogical infrastructure. This study employed anthropomorphized letter writing as a narrative trigger to invite management students to write to elements of their educational environment. We examined 49 letters penned by international students, addressing entities such as classmates, classrooms, and online tools. Our findings illustrate that students reveal their emotions, reflect upon their interactions with these targets, and ultimately reconcile their relationships with these entities, navigating the emotional complexities associated with remote education through their nostalgic narratives. This research contributes to the literature on emotional aspects of management education, the self-help benefits of letter writing, and the adaptive functions of nostalgia, offering practical guidance for educators who aim to support students' emotional well-being and autonomy during pandemic-related challenges and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]