Futuring for Sustainability (2025/2026: periode 2)

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Cursusdoel

Please note: the information in the course manual is binding.
In Futuring for sustainability we help you think critically and optimistically about the sustainable future. We discuss how social, political, and technological developments always interact, for better or worse. Why do sustainability politics evoke such backlash? How does it relate to our the authoritarian turn in our politics? And how can we create new and sustainable dreams?

After the course, you will be able to understand where sustainable futures might come from. Whose futures are they? Who is making them? And who gets to convince others of their ideas about the future. The key term in this course is ‘futuring’: actively thinking and making (sustainable) futures. Simply put, this course aims to equip you with a new set of tools to think about where (un)sustainable futures may come from, what they might look like, how they are the result of present conditions and how they shape our decisions in the present.

This means that after following this course, students:
  • …understand the role of futures and futuring in relation to sustainability;
  • ...have more understanding of how (authoritarian) politics intersects with issues of sustainability;
  • …are more aware of the need for alternative futures, on both ecological and social scientific grounds;
  • …have a basic understanding of the most important ideas related to futuring;
  • …can think critically about the future - and whose futures are most influential

Vakinhoudelijk

The world is changing. As a consequence, sustainability is too: world leaders dismantle sustainability policies, companies walk back their climate commitment, and military concerns now rival concerns about sustainability. In all, the world feels like a darker place. How do we navigate sustainability issues in an era of political backlash and democratic decline? Where can we turn for hopeful approaches or solutions? And how can we address the 'captured futures' that stand in the way of meaningful political change?

In the course Futuring for Sustainability, these are the central questions. In the course, we investigate sustainability from the perspective of the future, and try to understand how our images of the future can help (or hinder!) the sustainability transition. How can we understand the backlash against sustainability policies? And how can we still come to a sustainable future? We address these questions by connecting technical and environmental questions around sustainability to social questions around equality, democracy, and participation – and show that these questions meet each other in our images of the future. What we do in the present is always influenced by our expectations and aspirations. We hear the story all the time: if we don't act on climate change and other ecological issues, we're headed towards a catastrophe. The science is clear. So why aren't we listening? It's a story about the future we hear a lot, a story catastrophic climate change and politicians ignoring scientists. As a story about the future, it is downright terrifying. Yet in reality, the story is much more complicated. This course is about that story, about the difficulty and potential of building a more sustainable future.

To answer these questions, we look at how 'techniques of futuring', the practices we use to create ideas about the future, influence societal transformations towards sustainability. After all, our expectations about the future, and our dreams and imaginations for it, profoundly influence the way we act in the present. Visions of plausible, possible, or desirable futures are fundamentally important in shaping our social and environmental futures. Just think about the influence that climate projections and warnings about biodiversity loss have had on the way we act. Politics, society, and technology always rely on images of the future, on people acting based on their imaginations and expectations. In society, people and groups are also always actively trying to shape expectations and visions for the future. They are always trying to shape the future.

In this course, we will use futuring to understand the cultural politics of sustainability, as well as the ways in which we imagine solutions to the climate crisis. Lecturers from various disciplines will introduce what they deem to crucial insights for building a more sustainable future. This course builds your capacity to develop new visions and imaginations of possible futures and alternative sustainability pathways. Above all, it teaches you to play a role in futuring for sustainability​​​​​​​.

Werkvormen

Lectures
Toelichting

The course will be taught through weekly lectures and seminars. Lectures will be given by Dr. Jeroen Oomen and guest lecturers, such as prof. dr. Maarten Hajer, Lisette van Beek, and others.

Voorbereiding

We will assign specific (limited) material to read, listen, view in preparation of the general lectures.

Tutorial
Toelichting

Weekly seminars of up to twenty students with tutors aim to deepen the understanding of the course material.

Bijdrage

In groups, students analyse of past and present ‘futuring’ interventions, to see how these shaped the current present. Cases to study are suggested by the teachers, but students are encouraged to suggest their own. Seminars will also guide students in thinking creatively about their own imagined sustainable futures.

Voorbereiding

Early seminars will focus on in-depth reading of key texts. Later seminars center on the application and discussion of 'futuring' methods. This will include discussion of designs, presentations, or technologies make certain futures imaginable, inevitable, or impossible.

Toetsing

Eindresultaat

Verplicht | Weging 1% | ECTS 7,5

Ingangseisen en voorkennis

Ingangseisen

Je moet minimaal 45 punten van het bachelor programma hebben behaald

Voorkennis

We have no entry requirements for this course and we welcome students who choose this course to broaden their horizons. A basic understanding of sustainability issues is helpful.

Voorkennis kan worden opgedaan met

For students uncertain about their prior knowledge about sustainability, we recommend watching TED talks by (easy to find online): Johan Rockström - On the Planetary Boundaries Tim Lenton - On Tipping Points Kate Raworth - On Doughnut Economics

Voertalen

  • Engels

Cursusmomenten

Gerelateerde studies

Thema's

Tentamens

Er is geen tentamenrooster beschikbaar voor deze cursus

Verplicht materiaal

  • LITERATUUR
    Peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and popular scientific articles, as well as videos, blogs and podcast. We will provide all of the literature at the start of the course. You do not have to buy anything

Aanbevolen materiaal

Er is geen informatie over de aanbevolen literatuur bekend

Coördinator

dr. J.J. Oomen j.j.oomen@uu.nl

Docenten

Inschrijving

Deze cursus is open voor bijvakkers. Controleer wel of er aanvullende ingangseisen gelden.

Inschrijving
Van maandag 15 september 2025 tot en met vrijdag 26 september 2025

Na-inschrijving
Van maandag 20 oktober 2025 tot en met dinsdag 21 oktober 2025

Inschrijving niet geopend
Permanente link naar de cursuspagina
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