Ruins of hope in a Kyrgyz post‐industrial wasteland (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate). Issue 5 (1st October 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pelkmans, Mathijs
• Is Part Of: Anthropology today. Volume 29:Issue 5(2013:Oct.)
• Page Start: 17
• Page End: 21
• Publication Date: 2013-10-01
• Subjects: Anthropology -- Periodicals; 306.05
• DOI: 10.1111/1467-8322.12060
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0268-540X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>When people find themselves in dire situations, they use their imagination to transcend space and time. Forward‐projected hope and backward‐looking nostalgia are usually juxtaposed for their different temporal orientations and their different roles in social action. This article examines how this plays out in a former mining town in post‐Soviet Kyrgyzstan, whose inhabitants treasure the memories of Soviet modernity while dreaming of a future of economic abundance. Here, the sentiments of nostalgia and hope converge in their resonance with the ruins of empire, while their effects depend upon concealing the fragility of utopian visions.</p> </abstract>