Yesterday's Self: Nostalgia and the Immigrant Identity (Philosophy and the Global Context) - Softcover

Andreea Deciu Ritivoi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0742513610 ISBN 13: 9780742513617

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (UK), 2002

Synopsis

The state of being called nostalgia has a history fraught with ambiguity and poetical connotation. In the late 17th century, nostalgic reminiscences were thought to be the symptoms of a deadly disease that shook ones mind and body. Today, we view nostalgia not as a medical condition, but as a bittersweet recollection of ones past joys and sorrows—the memories and treasures of an earlier self. And yet, there remains a category of individuals for whom such recollection can be seriously problematic: immigrants.

In Yesterdays Self, Andreea Ritivoi explores the philosophical and historical dimensions of nostalgia in the lives of immigrants, forging a connection between current trends in the philosophy of identity and intercultural studies. The book considers such questions as, Does attachment to ones native culture preclude or merely influence adaptation into a new culture? Do we fashion our identity in interdependence with others, or do we shape it in a non-contingent frame? Is it possible to assimilate in an unfamiliar world without risking self-alienation? Ritivois response: nostalgia is both the poison and the cure in such situations.

Documenting the tribulations of sojourners and immigrants, Yesterdays Self illustrates how and why the cultural adjustment of immigrants can only happen when personal identity is understood as a quest for continuity in ones life story, even alongside the most radical cultural rupture. Ultimately, reflection on the nostalgic experience reveals insights into the nature of the self and its dynamic engagement with otherness and difference.

About this title

About the Author

Andreea Deciu Ritivoi is assistant professor of English and rhetoric at Carnegie Mellon University. She has previously published The Tale of a Lost City: Demolished Homes in Bucharest and The Other as Myself: Essays on Personal Identity.

Edition details

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (UK)
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0742513610
• ISBN 13: 9780742513617
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192