Paper Details

This study provides a comprehensive critique of M.G. Vassanji’s speculative novel Nostalgia (2016), examining the complex intersection of state biopower, systematic neurological alteration, and the crisis of human subjectivity. While Vassanji is traditionally celebrated for his realistic depiction of the South Asian diaspora in East Africa, Nostalgia marks a significant generic evolution into futuristic writing. The narrative presents a dystopian reality in the affluent Global North where citizens receive near-immortality through neuro-regeneration, a process that requires the absolute deletion of their authentic historical past and the implantation of artificial, state-sanctioned childhood memories. This paper terms this medicalized amnesia the "biological erasure of belonging." We argue that this process serves as a violent administrative tool designed to strip marginalized individuals and migrants from the Global South ("Maskinia") of their historical identities, turning them into compliant consumers. Focusing on the psychological journeys of Dr. Frank Sina and Presley Smith, this paper explores how the return of repressed histories—manifested as "Leaked Memory Syndrome"—collapses the state's engineered harmony. By combining concepts of biopolitics with psychological trauma and the idea of the uncanny, we demonstrate that human identity cannot be easily re-programmed. The living body acts as an unpoliced archive that retains true history. Ultimately, this paper positions the novel as a timely critique of modern assimilation strategies that demand the destruction of cultural roots as the price for global citizenship.

Biopolitics, Memory, Studies, Identity Crisis, Postcolonial Dystopia, M.G. Vassanji, Somatic Memory, The Uncanny.