PSY3816

Mapping Futures

The future is one of the most important forces shaping our lives. Yet people imagine the future in very different ways. Some see hope, others fear. Some think about the next few years, while others imagine distant worlds shaped by technology, nature or social change. In this EiT village, students explore how people imagine, feel and negotiate futures.

They first experience future thinking themselves and then investigate how different groups in society envision tomorrow – for example children, older adults, engineers, artists or policymakers. Together, they create a collective future map that visualises how people locate the future in time, what they associate with it and how emotions shape their visions of the future. The challenge is not to identify a single "correct" future, but to understand and represent the rich diversity of futures that coexist in society.

Relevant competency

This village welcomes students from all study programmes and disciplinary backgrounds.

Relevant perspectives include, but are not limited to:

• Psychology and social sciences: understanding emotions, behaviour, perceptions and how people imagine the future
• Engineering and technology: exploring how technological developments shape future societies and how people respond to them
• Architecture and design: creating visual, spatial and material representations of future visions
• Arts and humanities: storytelling, ethics and cultural perspectives on the future
• Health sciences: exploring future health systems, wellbeing and societal change
• Economics and business: understanding future societies, work, innovation and sustainable transitions
• Natural sciences: exploring environmental change and scientific developments shaping future generations

About the village

Every day we are confronted with visions of the future. We hear about climate change in 2100, artificial intelligence transforming society, demographic change, new technologies and global crises. Yet the future often remains distant and abstract. Different people imagine very different futures and these differences influence how we act in the present. This village explores a fascinating question: How do people imagine the future?

Students begin by exploring their own futures. What year comes to mind? Which topics dominate? Which emotions arise? And what happens when different people have to negotiate a shared future?

In the second part of the village, student teams investigate how other groups in society envision the future. They may visit kindergartens, schools, retirement homes, municipalities, NGOs or other organisations and explore questions such as: Do children imagine more hopeful futures than adults? Do older adults think further ahead than students? Are engineers more technology-oriented? Which futures evoke hope, fear or excitement? Where do people locate the future in time? Which topics dominate different groups' visions of tomorrow?

The village uses a shared set of creative and reflective methods, including time horizons, topic collections and body maps, to explore how people imagine, locate and feel the future. Throughout the three weeks, students contribute to a large collective future map: a visual installation showing many different futures side by side. The challenge is to understand and represent the diversity of futures that coexist in society.

Collaboration

Potential collaborators include:

• Kindergartens and schools
• Municipalities and public sector organisations
• NGOs and civil society organisations
• Retirement homes and senior organisations
• Researchers in psychology, sustainability and futures studies
• Creative practitioners working with storytelling, film and participatory futures
• Students may collaborate with these organisations by conducting interviews, workshops or creative future exercises.

More about Experts in Teamwork 

In the document Formal Framework, you can read more about the course, including the general course description for EiT, which covers learning outcomes, learning methods and activities, as well as more information about assessment and compulsory activities.  

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