Critical Futures

For me, Critical Futures refers to a critical examination of existing images of the future. Critical Futures Studies is the more academic approach while Critical Futures is the umbrella term for all critical work that can also happen in Foresight projects, journalistic work, and many other contexts.

Critical Futures Articles

Notes mentioning this note

Anti-Dystopia – A Third Way Between Utopia and Dystopia
A concept developed by Isabella Hermann Historical Context: The Dystopian Boom
Article – Beyond Capitalist Realism
‘Beyond Capitalist Realism – Why We Need Critical Future Studies’ by Luke Goode and Micheal Godhe (PDF)
Causal layered analysis (cla)
A comprehensive guide to understanding and applying Sohail Inayatullah’s transformative futures methodology
Comparable and related approaches
This article is part of my [[Master’s Thesis - Future Imaginaries]]. Previous Chapter: 2.2 [[Imaginaries]]
Critical Futures Studies
The field of [[Futures Studies]] describes “the scientific concern with possible, desirable and probable future developments”1. While the majority of...
Cultural Undercurrents
When we talk about “trends” in our contemporary discourse, we often conflate surface-level behavioral shifts with deeper structural transformations. I’ve...
Paper – From Critique to Cultural Recovery
A monograph by [[José M. Ramos]] titled From Critique to Cultural Recovery – Critical futures studies and Causal Layered Analysis...
Future Imaginaries from Goode and Godhe
This article is part of my [[Master’s Thesis - Future Imaginaries]]. Previous Chapter: 2.3.4 [[Imaginaries from Lockton and Candy]]
Futures Triangle
A diagnostic tool for mapping competing forces that shape futures
Images of the Future from Inayatullah
This article is part of my [[Master’s Thesis - Future Imaginaries]]. Previous Chapter: 2.1.2 [[Pull of the Future]] from Polak...
Introduction
This article is part of my [[Master’s Thesis - Future Imaginaries]].
Key questions in critical futures studies
At the heart of [[Critical Futures Studies]] (CFS), as articulated by [[Sohail Inayatullah]], lies the endeavor to “loosen the future.”...
Literature on Critical Futures Studies
Maybe one of the best ways to dive deeper into Critical Futures Studies is a monograph by [[José M. Ramos]]...
Master's Thesis – Future Imaginaries
I did my master’s in futures research from 2017 to 2020 at the FU Berlin. In my master’s thesis, submitted...
Methods
A comprehensive overview of methods, frameworks, and tools in foresight and futures studies
Nele fischer on critical futures studies
Futures studies are primarily an applied science, focusing on generating knowledge that helps individuals and organizations make informed decisions in...
No future is neutral
It is one of the most glaring oversights in the often sanitized and made digestible work on futures in corporate...
Polak Game
A diagnostic futures tool for surfacing assumptions about agency and optimism
Pull of the Future
This article is part of my [[Master’s Thesis - Future Imaginaries]]. Previous Chapter: 2.1.1 [[Present futures]] from Grunwald
Real Utopias
Real Utopias represent sociologist Erik Olin Wright’s influential framework for pursuing emancipatory social transformation through pragmatic, institutionally grounded alternatives to...
Research Questions
This article is part of my [[Master’s Thesis - Future Imaginaries]]. Previous Chapter: 1.2 [[Approach]]
Roles of Future Imaginaries
This article is part of my [[Master’s Thesis - Future Imaginaries]]. Previous Chapter: 3.2.2 [[Components of future imaginaries]]
Situating the Researcher
This article is part of my [[Master’s Thesis - Future Imaginaries]]. Previous Chapter: 1.4 [[Critical Futures Studies]]
Sohail Inayatullah
UNESCO Chair in Futures Studies and Developer of Causal Layered Analysis
Trends
_This is a [[Primer primer]]. A related note is [[Trend Report This is not a trend report]]._
Utopia as Method and Metamodernism: A Synthesis
This note explores the convergence and productive tensions between Ruth Levitas’s [[Utopia as Method]] and [[Metamodernism]], examining how their combination...
Utopia as Method
Utopia as Method represents Ruth Levitas’s groundbreaking reconceptualization of [[Utopia utopian thinking]] from static blueprint to dynamic methodology. Rather than...
Utopia
_This is a [[Primer primer]] on utopia. Related notes: [[Utopia as Method]], [[Real Utopias]]_
What good is scientific rigor when nobody gives a shit?
This note is based on a Twitter thread I wrote while attending a futures studies conference in Finnland.
Critical Futures
For me, Critical Futures refers to a critical examination of existing images of the future. [[Critical Futures Studies]] is the...
Index
Complete Index of Notes

Here are all the notes in this garden, along with their links, visualized as a graph.

AI and science fictionAI, future imaginaries, and futures studiesArtificial IntelligenceAnti-Dystopia – A Third Way Between Utopia and...ApproachDr. Armin GrunwaldArticle - Future FailArticle – Future of Terranascient Futures Studies...Article - Futures from RuinsArticles on FuturesArtificial general intelligence (agi)Artificial Intelligence and future imaginariesArticle – Beyond Capitalist RealismThe Blue Ant TrilogyBooks on FuturesCLA GameCausal layered analysis (cla)Characteristics of Future ImaginariesCollective MemoryCommon SenseComparable and related approachesComparison of national AI strategiesComponents of Future ImaginariesConceptual challenges and inconsistenciesConclusionCondensation of Future ImaginariesCritical Futures StudiesCultural UndercurrentsCyberpunkDates and eventsDifferentiation from similar termsDigital GardenEarly Approaches to ImaginariesEffect of performativity on future imaginariesFictional Expectations from BeckertFred PolakPaper – From Critique to Cultural RecoveryFuture Imaginaries from CookFuture Imaginaries from Goode and GodheFuture ScenarioFutures StudiesFutures terminologyFutures TriangleFuturesGlobal business networkGoalsImages of the Future from InayatullahImaginaries from Lockton and CandyImaginaries from an anthropological perspectiveImaginariesInteresting Questions in Futures Studies &...IntroductionIntroductions to Futures Thinking & ForesightJargon WatchKey questions in critical futures studiesLeitbildLiterature on Critical Futures StudiesLongtermismMaster's Thesis – Future ImaginariesMeaning-Making and AIMegatrendsMetamodernism and Futures StudiesMetamodernismMetaphorMethodsMinimum group size for (future) imaginariesMythNele fischer on critical futures studiesNo future is neutralNo such thing as “future-proof”Observations from the examination of futures and...Official futureOutlook – Application of future imaginariesOverton WindowPattern recognitionPolak GamePresent futures from GrunwaldPrimerPull of the FutureQuestions for the Start of a Foresight ProjectRationalistsReal UtopiasResearch QuestionsRoles of Future ImaginariesSarkar gameSituating the ResearcherSocial ImaginariesSociotechnical Imaginaries from JasanoffSohail InayatullahTescrealThe Difference between Present Futures and Future...Book – The Image of the FutureThe JackpotThe network stateThe Role of Futures in CapitalismThe distinction between imaginaries and future...The paradox of foresightThe vagueness of future imaginariesThinkers on futuresFuture NotesTools for the examination of future imaginariesTowards a definition of Future ImaginariesTraining Practice for FuturistsSorry, but this is not a trend reportTrendsUtopia as Method and Metamodernism: A SynthesisUtopia as MethodUtopiaVerge frameworkVisionWhat good is scientific rigor when nobody gives a...William GibsonMethod: WindtunnelingWorldbuildingCritical FuturesFuture ImaginariesIndex