NostalgiaFuture · Nostalgia for the future: transnational belonging as a socio-cultural resource in Europe’s eastern peripheries

Nostalgia for the future: transnational belonging as a socio-cultural resource in Europe’s eastern peripheries

Since the collapse of the Iron Curtain, nostalgia communities along Europe’s eastern peripheries have been able to re-assert their transnational belonging in personally rewarding and socially beneficial ways. Through their homeland associations, private networks and NGOs, they have participated in collaborative cross-border activities in a range of sectors, including humanitarian aid, public health, environmental protection, tourism, heritage and arts. These activities point to a gradual, yet significant cultural shift within the traditionally backward-looking social groups, until recently primarily concerned with demanding justice for past injuries. Drawing on disciplines including cultural anthropology, history, human, cultural and political geography, NostalgiaFuture maps, documents and contextually explains the involvement of two nostalgia communities - the Finns from ceded Karelia, and the Italians from Istria, Venezia-Giulia and parts of Dalmatia - in cross-border encounters and cooperative heritage-related initiatives over the last two decades. In doing so, it also develops a greater understanding of the way heritage - both tangible and intangible - has the potential of either contributing to, or hindering the development of a culture of tolerance necessary for further cross-border integration. The project also examines the tangible and intangible heritage pertaining to the two nostalgia communities. Tangible heritage includes photographs, art, utensils and other material objects in private heritage collections, museums and other institutional repositories; as well as townscapes, public buildings, memorials and natural landscapes. Intangible heritage involved stories, beliefs and traditions, as well as their representation in cultural texts and ritual performance. Heritage initiatives using digital technology are foregrounded, including digital modelling, interactive cartography, as well as virtual- and mixed- reality installations. Work on the project has involved: (a) sourcing and evaluation of academic literature, statistics, agency reports and legal documents; (b) media monitoring and analysis; (c) sourcing of relevant stakeholders and establishment of contacts; (d) fieldwork, including interviews and participant observation; (e) participation at academic conferences (presentations, panel discussions and attendance); (f) presentation of research in popular media; (g) publication of three articles in peer-reviewed academic journals; (h) completion of a book proposal for a single-authored book to be published by an academic publisher; and (i) a collaborative workshop, proceedings of which will be published in an edited volume by another academic publisher. Throughout the life of the project, transfer of knowledge was successfully implemented both within the host institution and externally, with regional Universities and research centres. Links with these institutions will extend beyond the life of the project. Beyond academia, transfer of knowledge was achieved through dissemination activities such as conference presentations, where policy-makers and members of public were present in the audience. A website has been developed and maintained, in order to disseminate information about the project (www.nostalgiafuture.eu). The website acknowledges EU funding using appropriate logos, and provides links to the School of Arts and Humanities at the host University. Information about the website has been shared with, and feedback sought from, colleagues at relevant institutions. It also provides links to a selection of images and videos from the NostalgiaFuture digital archives.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union