The psychological understanding of nostalgia has played an important role in developing our understandings of self and our interactions with the world around us. The word nostalgia itself originates in two parts - the Greek root nostos, homecoming, and the Latin root algos, pain (Fuentenebro & Valiente, 2014). As the idea of nostalgia became a more widely understood concept, it became a foundational trope of Romanticism, which emphasized a glorification of the past (Boym, 2002). Rather than a focus on the lows of the past, there was a reinvigorated focus on the positives. In fact, nostalgia has been found to improve moods, increase feelings of social connectedness, and enhance individuals positive self perceptions (Wildschut et al., 2006). We can see how the psychological mechanisms of nostalgia could be especially relevant right now among young people - we are living through uncertain and lonely times and nostalgia can appease some of these feelings. 

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To evaluate how and when nostalgia is proven to be prevalent and relevant, I will use a video essay. A video essay works to combine different forms of media to create an effective argument or develop a deeper understanding of something. The format typically involves video/film, audio, and possibly text added visually. Video essays are characterized by a few all encompassing terms including  multimodal communication, multimedia composition, and digital storytelling (Augustana Mikkelsen Library). By not limiting how to communicate my vision, this medium helps to open many avenues that require you to find balance that incorporates all aspects without feeling messy or overwhelming to the audience. 

All of these aspects of storytelling are things that I have attempted to do, yet I have never done them together. I’m excited to develop all of these skills together and would be especially successful for this topic because, not only do I want to say my thoughts, but the idea of nostalgia often relies on visual or audio cues. You can always say “X reminds me of Y,” but you’ll never mistake seeing your favorite board game from childhood or the first few beats of the song your mom played on repeat everyday to school.

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References

Boym, Svetlana (2002). The Future of Nostalgia. Basic Books. pp. xiii–xiv. 978-0-465-00708-0.

Fuentenebro, de Diego, F., & Valiente, C (2014). Nostalgia: a conceptual history. History of Psychiatry. 25 (4): 404–411. 10.1177/0957154X14545290

Wildschut, T., Sedikides, C., Arndt, J., & Routledge, C. (2006). Nostalgia: Content, triggers, functions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 91 (5): 975–993. 10.1037/0022-3514.91.5.975

Augustana Mikkelsen Library. (2017). Video Essays: Get Started. Augustana Mikkelsen Library. https://libguides.augie.edu/c.php?g=526064&p=3596905