Nostalgia Philosophiæ

Course DescriptionPHIL 042: Nostalgia Philosophiæ is an interdisciplinary seminar examining the philosophical, cultural, and occasionally absurd nature of nostalgia, vintage media, and the collective memory of Generation X. Through case studies including Rush, Super Mario Bros. 3, The Wizard, Cheech & Chong, Popeye, The Honeymooners, Robin Williams, The Golden Girls, and the USS Flagg, students will investigate the criteria by which ordinary objects transcend age to become cultural artifacts.Primary questions include:When does something become vintage?Is nostalgia measured in years, craftsmanship, or emotional resonance?What distinguishes retro from vintage?Why do conventions exist, and what role do they play in preserving popular culture?Can Popeye simultaneously exist as a comic strip, radio serial, cartoon, feature film, arcade game, and nostalgic touchstone?Topics include the preservation of childhood media, inherited cultural memory, classic television, early video games, toys as historical artifacts, the evolution of counterculture into mainstream culture, and the strange realization that the things we grew up with are now museum pieces.By the conclusion of this lecture, students should possess a greater appreciation for the cultural archaeology hidden within everyday entertainment—and perhaps accept the uncomfortable truth that they, too, may now qualify as vintage.Required Listening: This episode.Recommended Reading: Whatever comic book, VHS tape, cassette, or game cartridge happens to be closest to your chair.Office Hours: Every Tuesday, wherever two nerds accidentally begin discussing something from forty years ago.