Futures By Design: Methods for Change

Catalog description

How do we make the future we want? What ethical considerations guide our predictions and interventions? This course explores interdisciplinary methods for anticipating, analyzing, and shaping potential futures, with an emphasis on the ethical stakes in addressing global challenges. Students will gain practical skills and develop ethical frameworks essential for conducting rigorous, impactful futures research. Combining industry-standard techniques with critical, activist-oriented approaches, the course equips students to foster just and sustainable futures. It critically examines historical, social, cultural, economic, and political dynamics alongside applied techniques like trend analysis, scenario planning, and human-centered design. Real-world challenges in technology, environment, health, and geopolitics are central, encouraging students to evaluate the ethical implications of these methods, their assumptions, and their potential outcomes. By interrogating the limitations and possibilities of different approaches, students will learn to navigate the complex moral terrain of futures work and select tools that align with principles of equity, sustainability, and justice.