Nostalgia for the Future
October 25, 2015 2:14 PM Subscribe
Is there a word in English (or any other language) for anticipating nostalgia for events that have not yet happened?
For instance, my husband and I were just discussing how I was looking forward to teaching my son to make a certain culturally traditional food my family makes and telling him the family stories associated with it, and in picturing doing that, I felt something like nostalgia, but obviously it's not nostalgia because the event hasn't happened yet.
Surely there is a word for this in some language?
For instance, my husband and I were just discussing how I was looking forward to teaching my son to make a certain culturally traditional food my family makes and telling him the family stories associated with it, and in picturing doing that, I felt something like nostalgia, but obviously it's not nostalgia because the event hasn't happened yet.
Surely there is a word for this in some language?
hankering?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 2:41 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by TWinbrook8 at 2:41 PM on October 25, 2015
Wistfulness?
posted by dinnerdance at 3:51 PM on October 25, 2015
posted by dinnerdance at 3:51 PM on October 25, 2015
The Japanese word awaré is often translated as "pathos" or "melancholy," but it has an anticipatory quality to it—an appreciate of the ephemeral. You look at cherry blossoms, which are beautiful, and feel awaré, because you know they'll fall on the ground so soon.
This is a little different than what you're talking about.
posted by adamrice at 8:16 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is a little different than what you're talking about.
posted by adamrice at 8:16 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I feel like the psychology theorist Jacques Lacan wrote about this very thing, but I can't seem to find a single word or terminology that he used to signify it. He has an idea that basically our memories of that past, the way we see our current world and selves, and our projections about the future- all three are all interconnected. You see your future (and present) through a lens which is constructed from the past; and the converse is true, the lens you see your past through is shaped by your present existence and future hopes, dreams, expectations, etc. All three are constantly in a kind of tension where they mutual influence one another. I think you may have quite viscerally experienced this: this topic of traditional food brings your nostalgia of the past, intentions for the present, and anticipation of future experiences with your son into mind all at once and you feel something of an ambiguous response.
posted by incolorinred at 8:20 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by incolorinred at 8:20 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Best answer: It's very similar to your own wording, so you may already know that "anticipatory nostalgia" is a term used by at least some psychologists (mentioned in the last section of this New York Times article, which I found through this Metafilter article).
posted by hsieu at 8:37 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by hsieu at 8:37 PM on October 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
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posted by MonkeyToes at 2:34 PM on October 25, 2015 [1 favorite]