2007 Handbooks

What will happen in the future? Is society developing in a new direction? How can we make our lives better? How much room for manoeuvre do we possess? This course examines the place of the future in sociological discussions over the last two hundred years. It is organised in four sections. The first explores the way in which the future has been imagined. It looks at the history of utopian and science fiction literature, narratives of progress, and sociological prophecy.

The second section studies the 'technologies' that have been developed in order to shape the future, including: social planning and experiment; revolution and reform, and attempts to establish new worlds or societies.

The third section of the course analyses the retreat from the future in some contemporary debates, focusing especially on the recent disillusionment with progress and change, arguments around 'the end of history', and the embrace of tradition. The course ends with an examination of recent academic work on the study of the future, especially the rise of 'future studies' and the growing popularity of counterfactual and 'scenaric' thinking.