Nostalgia is a complex emotion produced by the individual and collective processes of remembering. Svetlana Boym distinguishes between reflective nostalgia, regarding the personal reactions to the passing of time, and restorative nostalgia, which acts on the collective level in response to the need to look at the past, that is presented in rigid and immutable forms and is considered a constitutive value of the present. Restorative nostalgia feeds nationalistic revivals and processes of historical revisionism and proselytism around hate speeches, based on retrotopies that, in the face of the insecurities and the crisis movements of the present time, paint a more flourishing past, in which life was easier, sheltered from the problems brought by globalization and the greater permeability of national borders. The popularity and consensus obtained in Italy, Sweden, and other European countries by nationalist parties, as well as the rhetoric of patriotism expressed by Vladimir Putin in support of his war action in Ukraine, are the most striking manifestations of a culture of identity closure, of fear, suspicion and opposition that has recently found expression also in the no vax and conspiracy movements. Hence the need for pedagogical reflection and educational interventions that know how to act on the mechanisms of presentisation of the past and identity closure, to educate to openness and not to be afraid of fragility and weaknesses.

La nostalgia è un’emozione complessa prodotta dai processi individuali e collettivi insiti nell’atto del ricordare. Svetlana Boym distingue tra la nostalgia riflessiva, legata al rapporto intimo che l’individuo elabora con lo scorrere del tempo, e la nostalgia restauratrice, che agisce sul piano collettivo in risposta al bisogno di considerare il passato, proposto in forme rigide e immutabili, come valore costitutivo del presente. La nostalgia restauratrice alimenta revival nazionalistici e processi di revisionismo storico e proselitismo attorno a messaggi e discorsi d’odio, fondandosi su retrotopie che, a fronte delle insicurezze e dei moti di crisi del tempo presente, dipingono un passato più florido, in cui la vita era più facile, al riparo dai problemi portati dalla globalizzazione e dalla maggiore permeabilità dei confini nazionali. La popolarità e il consenso ottenuti in Italia, Svezia e altri paesi europei dai partiti nazionalisti, così come la retorica del patriottismo espressa da Vladimir Putin a sostegno della sua azione bellica in Ucraina, sono le manifestazioni più eclatanti di una cultura della chiusura identitaria, della paura, del sospetto e della contrapposizione che ha di recente trovato espressione anche nei movimenti no vax e complottisti. Da qui la necessità di una riflessione pedagogica e di interventi educativi che sappiano agire sui meccanismi di presentizzazione del passato e chiusura identitaria, per educare all’apertura e a non avere paura delle fragilità e delle debolezze.

Zannoni, F. (2023). Restorative nostalgia, identity closures, conflicts and divisions = Nostalgia restauratrice, chiusure identitarie, conflitti e divisioni. EDUCAZIONE INTERCULTURALE, 21(1), 37-45 [10.6092/issn.2420-8175/16972].

Restorative nostalgia, identity closures, conflicts and divisions = Nostalgia restauratrice, chiusure identitarie, conflitti e divisioni

Zannoni, Federico
2023

Abstract

Nostalgia is a complex emotion produced by the individual and collective processes of remembering. Svetlana Boym distinguishes between reflective nostalgia, regarding the personal reactions to the passing of time, and restorative nostalgia, which acts on the collective level in response to the need to look at the past, that is presented in rigid and immutable forms and is considered a constitutive value of the present. Restorative nostalgia feeds nationalistic revivals and processes of historical revisionism and proselytism around hate speeches, based on retrotopies that, in the face of the insecurities and the crisis movements of the present time, paint a more flourishing past, in which life was easier, sheltered from the problems brought by globalization and the greater permeability of national borders. The popularity and consensus obtained in Italy, Sweden, and other European countries by nationalist parties, as well as the rhetoric of patriotism expressed by Vladimir Putin in support of his war action in Ukraine, are the most striking manifestations of a culture of identity closure, of fear, suspicion and opposition that has recently found expression also in the no vax and conspiracy movements. Hence the need for pedagogical reflection and educational interventions that know how to act on the mechanisms of presentisation of the past and identity closure, to educate to openness and not to be afraid of fragility and weaknesses.
2023
Zannoni, F. (2023). Restorative nostalgia, identity closures, conflicts and divisions = Nostalgia restauratrice, chiusure identitarie, conflitti e divisioni. EDUCAZIONE INTERCULTURALE, 21(1), 37-45 [10.6092/issn.2420-8175/16972].
Zannoni, Federico
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11585/927371
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