Futures
Studies:
Methods,
Emerging Issues and Civilizational Visions - A Multimedia Reader
Sohail Inayatullah and Paul Wildman
What
is the long term future of humanity? of Gaia?
Will
civilisations violently clash or are we on the verge of planetary
governance?
What
is the future of world capitalism?
Will
robots have legal rights?
Should
we consciously create the future or is the future best left to market
forces?
Will
the new communication technologies liberate us or create a
technocratic prison?
Can
patriarchy be transformed and a peaceful partnership society be
created?
Is
there one future or alternative futures?
How
can we decolonize the future, keeping open the plurality of dissent?
These and other crucial questions are explored in this exciting
new cd-rom. Packed with insights about our futures, this cd-rom in
itself is a future technology. By
opening up to a futures listserve, you can email the authors and other
readers, even co-author future editions.
Futures
Studies
brings together leading thinkers and activists in the futures field:
*
Ashis Nandy on dissent and the shaman
*
Johan Galtung on peace and global governance
*
James Dator on governing evolution and the end of the natural
*
Elise Boulding on imagining a world without weapons
*
Riane Eisler on gender and the partnership society
*
Allen Tough on the crucial questions facing future generations
*
Rick Slaughter on foundational futures concepts
*
Immanuel Wallerstein on civilization and capitalism
*
Ivana Milojevic on feminism and futures studies
*
Eleonora Masini on the philosophy of futures studies
*
Sohail Inayatullah on critical futures studies; macrohistory;
postdevelopment visions; and Sarkar's spiritual-technological futures
*
Wendy Schultz on visioning workshops
*
Zia Sardar on Asia in-between programmed and desired futures
and on
decolonizing futures studies
*
Godwin Sogolo on the futures of Africa
*
Tony Judge on the aesthetics of governance
*
Phil McNally on the rights of robots
*
Tony Stevenson and June Lennie on communication futures
*
Chris Jones on the futures of Gaia
*
Richard Richardson on Microvita Science and the Spirituality
revolution
*
Clem Bezold on scenario development and health futures
*
Tom Beer on fractals, forecasting and climate change
*
Paul Wildman on ways of knowing and the pedagogies of the
future as well as with
Bilyana Blomeley on Aboriginal dreamtime futures, and much more.
The first section presents methods futurists use to forecast
and interpret the future; the second speculates on emerging issues
that have the potential to dramatically alter how we work, love, live
and learn; and the third section explores how different civilizations
imagine the future. An annotated bibliography of the Futures field is
also included. A Futures
galleria presents futures-oriented artworks that visually represent
authors' texts and a section on fractals explores the frontiers of
science, art and learning. Rosaleen
Love, award winning feminist science fiction writer, presents her
latest short story, The Seven Futures of Septimus Smith.
Each chapter includes an introduction by Inayatullah as well as
study-guide questions. Authors'
profiles and interviews - their life stories, passions, forecasting
methods and visions of the future - illuminate the text.
These
profiles include:
1.
Clem Bezold, Helping Others Choose More Wisely
2.
Elise Boulding, The Cultures and Futures of Peace
3.
Jim Dator, A Fish In and Out of Water
4.
Riane Eisler, Creating Partnership Futures
5.
Johan Galtung, Peace, Vision and the Future
6.
Jenny Gidley, Creating Futures for Holistic Education
7.
Hazel Henderson, Fighting Economism
8.
Francis Hutchinson, Future Generations, Education and Alternatives to
Violence
9.
Sohail Inayatullah, Civilizational Futures and Beyond
10.
Chris Jones, Conundrum and Vision, Professing on the Hinge of History
11.
Tony Judge, Richer Metaphors for Our Future Survival
12.
Rosaleen Love, The History of Wrong Ideas, and their Future
13.
Eleonora Masini, A Future with Dignity
14.
Ivana Milojevic, Journey to Feminist Futures
15.
Ashis Nandy, Bearing Witness to the Future
16.
Robert Pope, Ethical Science, Ethical Art, Ethical Futures
17.
Zia Sardar, Natural Born Futurist
18.
Richard Slaughter, Towards a Reenchanted World
19.
Tony Stevenson, Travels in Futures Studies
20.
Allen Tough, My Connectedness with Future Generations
21.
Paul Wildman, Work Futures and Future Pedagogies
Interviews
include: Elise Boulding (Women, Civil Society and the Image of the
Future), Jim Dator (From Medieval Philosophy to Space Futures), Riane
Eisler (Ending 5000 Years of Domination), Johan Galtung (Basic Human
Needs and Ecological Balance), Hazel Henderson (Taming the World
Economy), Sohail Inayatullah (Metaphors and the Future), Eleonora
Masini (The Right to Have a Future), Ashis Nandy (The Defiance of
Defiance and the Liberation of the Victims of History), Zia Sardar
(There's No Free Meal on the Internet), Rick Slaughter (Hope, God and
Nano-technology) and Immanuel Wallerstein (Contradictions of World
Capitalism).
But more than eclectic content, this cd-rom is unique in that
it opens up to a futures listserve, thus allowing you to engage in
interactive conversations with other readers as well as the editors
and selected authors. Further, over 100 future-oriented World Wide Web
addresses are included. This hybrid design creates a new level of
interactivity, even to the point of encouraging readers to help write
future editions.
The Multimedia Reader
can also be used for credit towards a Masters in Science (Futures and
Foresight) through the International Management Centres - a private
accredited international
university.
Futures Studies
will be of invaluable use to planners, educators, policymakers,
academics, activists and students of futures research.
Futures Studies: Methods, Emerging Issues and Civilizational
Visions
is available from the Pacific Centre for Futures Innovation and
Prosperity Press, Brisbane. Isbn: 1 875 603 13 1 . Release 1.0
Cost:
US$50 (Australian 80) for individuals and US$150 (Australian 240) for
institutions (both inclusive of postage and handling). Discounts
available for students, unemployed and others. Licensing as courseware
is also possible.
Orders
can be placed directly through:
http://www.powerup.com.au/~pwildman/
Prosperity
Press - Publishing for Prosperous Communities Nature can live with
PO
Box 74, Nundah 4014 Brisbane Australia
Phone/Fax
61 7 3266-7570
Email:
pwildman@powerup.com.au
or
contact: Sohail Inayatullah - s.inayatullah@qut.edu.au or sinayatullah@hotmail.com
COMMENTS
It
is magnificent ... I have already set it as a requirement for my
undergraduate "History of the Future" course.
Dr.
Tom Poole, Senior Lecturer, Department of History, University of
Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Easy
to use, full of insights. Highly recommended.
Carolyn Hobart, IT director, Foundation for the Future,
Bellevue, Washington, USA.
Its
gripping material makes it an exciting and fascinating learning
journey that adds significant value to any action learning program or
to anyone interested in the future … absolutely essential on-line
information and courseware. Robert
Burke, Associate Professor, Chief Executive Officer, International
Management Centres, Pacific Region,
Australia
The
essayists included are outstanding. Galtung, Sarkar, Nandy, Boulding
and Judge have long been among my idols in grassroots philosophy. This
selection should be required reading for anyone in the public service.
Bill Elliss, TRANET, Maine, USA.
A
magnificent intellectual smorgasbord with such delicacies and variety
as to satisfy a novitiate or an ancient cleric in the world of the
futurist … a true banquet. Tom
Abeles, President, Sagacity, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Wonderful.
Professor
Art Shostak, Director, Centre for Employment Futures, Drexel
University, USA
The
CD provides me with a comprehensive view of the field - what it has
contributed, is contributing and even its futures. As a geriatric
psychiatrist, I am using it to explore the futures of my sub-specialty
- the futures of health care.
Dr.
M. Ouwafemi Agbayewa,
Professor,
Department of Psychiatry, University of Britich Columbia.
Congratulations.
The CD looks great. Wendell
Bell, Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology, Yale University
A
significant contribution to crafting a future that is worthwhile and
fulfilling. Neville
Coventry, Director, Co-Visions, Australia
There
is a great deal of stimulating material here, and Inayatullah and
Wildman’s warmth and dedication shine through and are an integral
part of the experience.
Colin Blackman, editor, Foresight. Director, Camford
Publishing.
Using
an innovative and challenging forum of the future, the CDRom . It
brings together a constellation of international scholars to debate
alternative futures. A unique and valuable contribution to the field
of Futures Studies.
Dr. Brenda Hall-Taylor, Director of Postgraduate Coursework
School of Social and Workplace Development, Southern Cross University
The
CD-Rom is an invaluable navigation aid ...
a must have resource.
Michael
McAllum, Director, Foresight Institute of
New Zealand and Global Foresight
Inayatullah
and Wildman’s Futures Studies CD-Rom is a unique multiperspective
journey of throught, helping the student/reader create their preferred
future in the world of work, family and society.
Shawn
Ket, General Manager,
QANTM Australia
The
CD-Rom is a find product of extensive research, planning and
documentation .. one of the earliest multimedia kits in the future
lineof powerful 21st century “textbook” on futures
studies. Every conscientious world citizen should train herslef and
other family members in futures studies with this wonderful tool.
Dr. Udayakumar, Research Associate, Institute on Race and Poverty,
University of Minnesota.
A
masterpiece prepared by among the most respected scholars in the
discipline. An ideal tool for both futures students and other
scholars.
Kible
Bonga, Economic Unit Investment Division, Finance Pacific Ltd.
COMMENTS
FROM CONTRIBUTORS
Congratulations.
The cd-rom is fantastic. You have pushed the envelope very far forward.
James Dator, Professor of Political Science, University of
Hawaii.
Congratulations.
The cd-rom provides a major and unique overview of the
futures
field.
Clem Bezold, Executive
Director, Institute for Alternative Futures and
Director,
World Future Society
Fantasies,
fears, foibles, forecasts, fallacies, foresight, future
generations
... Here's but a few of the critical challenges offered in this
diverse
and creative resource. Frank
Hutchinson, Senior Lecturer, University of Western Sydney.
Awesome,
a real contribution to futures studies and of tremendous
practical use to local and national planners.
Phil
McNally, Alderman, Belle Fourche Council, South Dakota
Both
the content and the format are superb. Congratulations on an excellent
product!
Allen
Tough, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto
August
1999
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