The Aroma of Recollections: Olfaction, Notalgia, and the Shaping of the Sensuous Self
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2009
Abstract
This study examines olfactory perception and nostalgic memories focusing on sense acts and the sensuous self as a dialectic of ritual sensations and sense-making rituals. Our data are drawn from a convenience sample of twenty-three participants who reflected on their olfactory experiences through the use of research journals. Our analysis illustrates how olfactory perceptions and memories are necessarily produced by active “idealizing activity” that is emergent in sensuous rituals that help maintain self continuity over time. Our focus on olfaction – at the expense of a more multisensory approach focusing on, say, taste and olfaction – contributes to a very small body of sociological (but also a larger body of anthropological) literature on this important but much neglected medium of perception.
Department
Sociology and Corrections
Publication Title
The Senses and Society
Recommended Citation
Dennis Waskul, Phillip Vannini, and Janelle Wilson. 2009. "The Aroma of Recollection: Olfaction, Nostalgia, and the Shaping of the Sensuous Self." Senses and Society, 4 (1): 5-22.
DOI
10.2752/174589309X388546
Link to Publisher Version (DOI)
Publisher's Copyright and Source
Copyright © 2009 Bloomsbury Journals. Article published by Bloomsbury Journals in The Senses and Society, volume 4, issue number 1, March 2009, pages 5-22. Available online on March 1, 2009: http://dx.doi.org/10.2752/174589309X388546
