'Nostalgia as the Pain of the Past': lecture by Mark Cousins, 14th February, 2003

Extent: 1 audio cassette, 4 digital files (875 MB)

Comprises audio recording of a lecture entitled 'Nostalgia and the Pain of the Past', given by Mark Cousins on the 14th February, 2003. The recordings consist of a 90 mins audio cassette, 2 digital preservation files (714 MB, .wav format) and 2 digital access files (161 MB .mp3 format). Duration of access version: 1hr 4min 44sec.

Copyright: Architectural Association

Creator: Mark Cousins

Admin History: The recording is of the 8th lecture in the series entitled 'The Past', given by Mark Cousins as part of the AA General Studies programme, 2002-2003. In this lecture, Mark Cousins focuses upon the idea of nostalgia and of the pain of the past. Firstly, he discusses what he considers concepts of 'the past' in relation to affective terms of 'loss and pain'. Subsequently, he argues that the idea of a present is a philosophical illusion that we use only as a category to distinguish between past and future by using the fundamental measure of temporality to describe them. Included within the debate is a discussion of the ideas of Jacques Derrida and of Soren Kierkegaard's concept of spaces of anxiety.

Custodial History: Audio cassette recording was made by the AA Audio Visual Department and retained by the AA Photo Library until 2019, when it was transferred to the AA Archives.

Aquisition: Audio cassette was transferred from the AA Photo Libary to the AA Archives in 2019. Digital preservation and access copies were created by the AA Archives in 2021.

Archive Note: Catalogue description by Gabriela Jimenez

Publication Note: AA Events List, Week 5, Spring Term, 10th - 16th February, 2003