Course info

Description: 

Sustainability transitions are inherently future-oriented. With sustainability transition research, we are making particular futures. Everywhere we look, societal actors are "predicting" the future when it comes to developing strategies and assigning responsibilities and spaces for action in sustainability transitions. Scenarios are often used to depict potential climate futures, as well as political visions and strategies for (future) sustainable societies. However, what is much less explicity dealt with, is that all methods for "predicting" the future come with a set of normative expectations about what a sustainable future is, how it can be achieved and who (should) take part in devloping it. While foresight and scenario building are known practices in sustainability transition research, they tend to extrapolate from existing ways of life. With the increasing need for making radical societal transitions towards sustainable futures (latest argued by IPCC 2021), (other) resources that enable thinking about and imagining such radical change are increasingly needed. As part of this process, it is helpful to think of 'the future' as an analytical object. The field of ‘social futures’ seeks to explore the critical role that understandings of, and orientations to, the future play in processes of social change. Shifting the perspective from a reified view of the future as something given (a neutral temporal space into which (objective) expectations can be projected) to viewing the future as a field of projectivity means recognising the profound link between futurity, agency and social action. Parallel to this, an emerging body of work around ‘futuring’ enable us to imagine radically different future alternatives, by drawing on world building techniques, or as Donna Haraway would put it; world-ing techniques. This course provides a critical take on ‘future-making’ and the methods and tools that are used, by discussing what the methods assume about the future, what it should consist of, how it should be done and by (and with) whom. The course also provides a space for exploring creative futuring techniques that embraces these questions, and which enable imagination. Creative methods for futuring and imagination will be presented through a workshop format, where students will try the methods in groups. The students complete the course by atteding the course and workshops, and by writing a short critical reflection piece about what their scientific fields assume about futures.

Literature:

Prerequisites:

PhD students attending the course should:
1) be enrolled in a phd program that focuses on sustainability and/or sustainable transitions
2) be interested in exploring what their scientific fields might assume about futures, and
3) be interested in trying different methods of futuring.

Evaluation:

Organizer: Associate Professor Charlotte Louise Jensen, cjensen@plan.aau.dk

 
Lecturers: Charlotte Louise Jensen and Jens Stissing Jensen

ECTS: 3

Time:  November 2022 - 3 day workshop.

Place: TBA

Number of seats: 15

Deadline: TBA

Important information concerning PhD courses:
We have over some time experienced problems with no-show for both project and general courses. It has now reached a point where we are forced to take action. Therefore, the Doctoral School has decided to introduce a no-show fee of DKK 3.000 for each course where the student does not show up. Cancellations are accepted no later than 2 weeks before start of the course. Registered illness is of course an acceptable reason for not showing up on those days. Furthermore, all courses open for registration approximately four months before start. This can hopefully also provide new students a chance to register for courses during the year. We look forward to your registrations.