Longing for a Pre-Genocide Gaza: TikTok as a Site of Mediated Nostalgia and Resistance to Erasure

Abstract

The ongoing genocide in Gaza has led to the creation of a digital counter-narrative, with Palestinians turning to social media to document their history and reclaim their identity. Tiktok has become a crucial platform for mediating nostalgia, enabling Gazans to preserve memories of their homeland before the genocide. This study explores how Tiktok’s digital features, such as text overlays, soundscapes, and editing tools, shape the expression of nostalgia, transforming it into both an intimate act of remembrance and a collective form of digital resistance. Through a qualitative multimodal content analysis, this research focuses on five case-study Tiktok videos that exemplify the mediation of nostalgia. The study draws on theoretical perspectives such as Svetlana Boym’s (2001) framework of nostalgia, Sara Ahmed’s (2004) concept of affective economies, and Zizi Papacharissi’s (2014) theory of affective publics. While existing scholarship on Palestinian digital activism often centers on protest, visibility, and real-time resistance, there remains a significant gap in exploring how nostalgia, particularly as mediated through platforms like TikTok, functions as a subtle yet powerful mode of resistance. This study addresses that gap by examining how affective expressions of longing and memory become political tools for asserting Palestinian presence and identity in the face of ongoing genocide. The findings reveal that nostalgia on Tiktok serves as both a space for yearning for a lost home and a tool for resilience, strengthening collective memory through networked storytelling. However, the study also highlights the potential risks of idealizing the past, as nostalgia can lead to obscuring the devastating realities of Gaza’s occupation. By combining digital media studies, affect theory, and Palestinian digital activism, this research broadens the conversation on how social media platforms facilitate the mediation of memory and resistance in contexts of displacement and ethnic cleansing.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Humanities and Social Science