The future is the last frontier where nonwestern societies are still free-free to envision desirable futures based on their own worldviews, cultures, and traditions. Yet the discipline of futures studies, this volume argues, has abandoned its goal of exploring such diverse and alternative futures in favor of a single, myopic vision that is incapable of seeing outside the framework of western thought and action. Its overemphasis on forecasting and prediction, its overpreoccupation with technology, and its neglect of nonwestern cultures and concerns have transformed the discipline into an instrument for the colonization of the future. Distinguished contributors from a variety of cultural and disciplinary backgrounds discuss ways of bringing multiculturalism and plurality to the heart of futures studies and point towards new, decolonizing directions. This groundbreaking text will be essential reading for all those interested in helping shape more pluralistic and humane futures.

Argues that the discipline of future studies is dominated by a single, myopic vision that is incapable of seeing outside the framework of western thought.

About the Author
ZIAUDDIN SARDAR is an internationally renowned writer, futurist, and cultural critic. Author of some 30 books, he was recently appointed editor of Futures: The Journal of Policy, Planning and Future Studies. He has been actively involved in the futures movement for over two decades and is an executive board member of the World Futures Studies Federation.


Book Information
ISBN 9780275965594
Author Ziauddin Sardar
Format Paperback
Page Count 280
Imprint Praeger Publishers Inc
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Weight(grams) 595g