Nostalgic Confessions in the French Cévennes: Politics of Longings in the Neo-Peasants Initiatives

Madeleine Sallustio (1)

1 LAMC - Laboratoire d'Anthropologie des Mondes Contemporains

The back-to-the land movement in France brings with it eco-nostalgic attachments which are nevertheless often denied by the neo-peasants who fear being seen as either idealists or conservative. This chapter explores the history of the multiple nostalgias for the peasantry and how it fits into the ecological and libertarian discourses of French collective farms. In doing so, how nostalgia articulates utopia and dystopia shall be demonstrated. This leads to a reflection about articulations of the past, present and future, and multiple temporalities.

Mots clés: Dystopia; Organic Agriculture; Communities; Neo-peasantry; Rural Nostalgia; Utopia

Domaines: Anthropologie sociale et ethnologie; Histoire, Philosophie et Sociologie des sciences; Sociologie

Madeleine Sallustio. Nostalgic Confessions in the French Cévennes: Politics of Longings in the Neo-Peasants Initiatives. Olivia Angé, David Berliner. Ecological Nostalgias: Memory, Affect and Creativity in Times of Ecological Upheavals, 26, Berghahn Books, 2021, Environmental Anthropology and Ethnobiology, 978-1-78920-893-1. ⟨hal-03478490⟩