Nostalgia According to Lowenthal, Nostalgia Is "The

Nostalgia According to Lowenthal, nostalgia is "the universal catchword for looking back," (4). Looking back happens to be a source of "modern malaise," too (4). Nostalgia is also a commercial proposition, and can be a crafty marketing tool. The past is a foreign country, and it therefore inspires tourism in the form of continually looking back to bygone days. This could come in the form of affection for antique furniture, or in an appreciation for old-style train cars.

Lowenthal's ideas are integral to design sensibilities because they challenge designers to resurrect the past but in ways that suggest freshness and re-interpretation. The important thing with nostalgia is the illusion of a memory. The designer is not entrusted with recreating old technology, but in designing new technology to make it look old so the consumer feels connected to the past. Fascination and fetish with the past drives consumer behavior. As Lowenthal puts it, the design does not even have to be "taken seriously," (7).

It is sufficient to invoke the "vividness" of childhood, which is a memory idealized (8). When a person recalls the past wistfully as with nostalgia, that memory is encased in idealism and devoid of the realities of negative emotions or daily hardships. Nostalgia is therefore a type of escapism, according to Lowenthal. The present is weighted down by the burden of daily toil, and the future filled with uncertainty. The past, however, is whatever we want it to be.

As a type of escapism, nostalgia can easily be pathologized and it often is. As Lowenthal points out, nostalgia was once classified as a "malady," but is now accepted as normative or even desirable (11). The person who detaches too much from the past is viewed suspiciously, as if they have no heart or soul. Yet nostalgia dangerously disconnects people from the present. Nostalgia goes against the very concept of progress, as progress is conceived as time moving forward in a linear direction.

Another dimension of nostalgia is embedded in architectural design. As Lowenthal points out, each era of architecture's past is anchored in time. The creation of an idealized sense of an era, such as Tudor or Renaissance, guides real estate values and property development in addition to new architectural design. Looking back to a nostalgic past, the consumer idealizes old homes and uses labels like "heritage" and "character" to signify nostalgia. Homes are particularly susceptible to a pathological nostalgia, as home buyers project their idealized childhood on new home purchases.

The nostalgia in homes can lead to irresponsible purchasing of homes that have "character" but that fall apart almost immediately. Of course, there are virtues to nostalgia. A balance is needed, especially in the realms of architecture, urban planning, and design. It is just as wrongful to tear down wantonly old buildings and show disrespect for the past as it is to overly fetishize or idealize anything that is from the past.