Contested Futures

This research program develops a type of analysis for Possibility Studies taking the form of Horizons of Possibility Estimation (HOPE) and applies this new method to a range of societal challenges. HOPE is based on identifying positions, perspectives and dialogues in conversations carried out by individuals, groups, and communities around issues of common interest, exchanges that oftentimes lead to competing visions of the future. The project starts by focusing on the climate crisis as a key societal challenge informing a range of contested futures. The methodology used includes the analysis of social media posts, conducting interviews and running experiments on how people engage possibility thinking in order to understand, discuss and act upon environmental issues.