Permanent Present – Forms of Nostalgia and Liminality in Contemporary Western Culture

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Trajna sadašnjica – obličja nostalgije i liminalnost u suvremenoj kulturi Zapada
• Author: Emil Feriz
• Mentor: Sven Cvek (mentor)
• Committee member: Martina Domines (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Hrvoje Tutek (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2024-09-30, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

This thesis explores the transformations of nostalgia and its associated temporal flattening within contemporary Western culture, with a particular focus on the aesthetic and spatial dimensions of this phenomenon in popular culture. Central to the analysis are popular trends that reflect the breakdown of historicity, as outlined by Fredric Jameson, and the rise of "retromania," as examined by Simon Reynolds. Movements such as hauntology and vaporwave are examined as examples of self-referential cultural recycling, echoing Mark Fisher’s concept of "lost futures"—a cultural condition wherein the inability to imagine coherent futures results in societal stasis. The thesis also delves into the spatial manifestations of nostalgia in popular culture, focusing on dead malls and liminal spaces. These physical and conceptual spaces, emptied of their original functions, evoke a sense of atemporality and serve as symbols of ersatz nostalgia—utilizing fragments of collective memory without anchoring it to a specific historical reality. Finally, referring to anthropological and sociological research on liminality, the study considers how these cultural and spatial transformations reflect broader trends of social isolation in the West, contributing to a form of cultural deadlock characterized by a pervasive sense of displacement and atemporality.

• Keywords: atemporality; liminal; cultural production; nostalgia; popular culture
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:990642
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (single major); specializations in: TEFL, Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation; Course: Literature and Culture; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Access restricted to authenticated users
• Created on: 2024-09-30 12:55:31