Future-Focused Research Methods

Catalog description

In times of discontinuous change, deep ambiguity and high levels of novelty, the future is characterized by radical uncertainty. Making decisions, choosing policies or organizing community action is complicated by the range of complex potential futures in play. As researchers and practitioners concerned with socio-technical change, what are the tools and methods to grapple with and make sense of uncertainty? This class surveys the field of foresight, drawing from a broad array of scholarly traditions, to catalogue the different methodological approaches to navigate change. Looks to scholars who approach the sociology of time, the dynamics of socio-technical systems, innovation studies, social psychology and futures studies to explore the concept of the future with an eye toward the implications for research methods. Utilizes different ways of thinking about the future to support and develop cognitive, social and organizational capacities to imagine and enact different futures. In doing so, the epistemology of the future is foregrounded, probing the nature and consequences of anticipatory knowledge production.