Birkbeck College, University of London
Deadline: Apr 20, 2016

The Dandelion editors seek submissions on the theme of NOSTALGIA for
their forthcoming issue.

Nostalgia is a ubiquitous presence in contemporary culture. Images and
fantasies of the past permeate cultural and political discourses: from
the mediated recycling of retro culture and popular history, to
nostalgia as a method of political renewal (for example, Donald Trump’s
campaign slogan ‘Make America Great Again!’ and Ken Loach’s The Spirit
of ‘45).

Nostalgia is readily apparent in the current popularity of culture that
celebrates our national past, while self-styled ‘progressive’ cultural
institutions are increasingly turning to the past in order to better
understand the contemporary: for instance, the reproduction of Richard
Hamilton’s installations ‘Man, Machine and Motion’ (1955) and ‘an
Exhibit’ (1957) at the ICA, London, in 2014. As the RetroDada manifesto
declares ‘why shouldn’t a .gif run backwards as well as forwards?’

To this end we ask: why the resurgence of nostalgia? Is it merely a
displacement strategy for a world convulsed by social, political,
economic, and environmental crisis, or is there something salvageable
in its longing for a prior wholeness, in its desire to seek out a
moment when the new was still possible? Should nostalgia be condemned
as an ethical and aesthetic failure? Is nostalgia a hindrance to making
it new; a symptom of lateness, of a loss of the future? Or can
nostalgia be a productive force that provides, both for the self and
society, insights into our present?

This journal invites submissions that address the theme of nostalgia
across the spectrum of Arts and Humanities research.

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

•    Genealogies of nostalgia: from its earliest expositions in medical
science through its Romantic and now latest twenty-first century phase
•    Homesickness, exile and diaspora
•    Nostalgia, nationalism and the nation
•    Postcolonial nostalgia
•    Institutionalised nostalgia: heritage, memorials and/or museums
•    Life writing and memoirs
•    The restaging of exhibitions and past live art events
•    Nostalgia and film: remakes, mediating history through dramatic
reconstruction, retro-soundtracks
•    Nostalgia and digital technologies
•    Genres of nostalgia: ranging from the Romantics to the return of
the long novel and to science-fiction, steampunk, and retro-futurism
•    Nostalgia for the avant-garde and avant-garde nostalgia
•    Communist and fascist nostalgia: utopia
•    Temporalities of nostalgia: late time and belatedness
•    Scenes of nostalgia: the ruin, the country house, reconciliation
with nature

We welcome short articles of 3000-5000 words, long articles of
5000-8000 words and critical reviews of books, film, and exhibitions.
We also strongly encourage submissions of artwork including visual art;
creative writing; podcasts and video footage (up to 10 minutes). We
would be happy to discuss ideas for submissions with interested authors
prior to the submissions deadline.

Please send all submissions to mail@dandelionjournal.org by 20th April
2016.

Please also include a 50-word author biography and a 200-300-word
abstract alongside your submission. All referencing and style is
required in full MHRA format as a condition of publication and
submitted articles should be academically rigorous and ready for
immediate publication. Complete instructions for submissions can be
found at www.dandelionjournal.org under ‘About’.