RECONSTRUCTING MEMORY: NOSTALGIA, EVERYDAY OBJECTS AND IDENTITY

This study aims to analyze the complex interplay between nostalgia, everyday objects, and individual/collective memory from a sociological perspective, using the Museum of Innocence as a case study. Applying the actor-network theory, the research conceptualizes everyday objects exhibited within the museum as “actors” around which individual/collective memories are reaffirmed and reconstructed. The study reveals how nostalgia, as a social spatio-temporal experience, serves as a way for the individuals to deal with the uncertainties of contemporary society. By shedding light on these dynamics, the research contributes to a deeper understanding of the socio-cultural significance of nostalgia, and memory revived around the objects and their implications for the construction of identity and cultural narratives.