Imaginations and Representations of the Future: What Will the World Be Like Tomorrow



In a world beset by multiple crises - ecological, geopolitical, cultural, health-related, economic, political and demographic - and whose societies are undergoing profound change (for example, the introduction of artificial intelligence), representations and imaginaries of the future, on both an individual and collective scale, deserve to be explored and studied. This exploration not only allows us to take stock of our expectations of the future, but to understand how individuals seek to give meaning to the present. It invites us to take stock of our fears and hopes for tomorrow's world, and to consider both the probable and the non-probable aspects of a future whose contours and parameters are not always perceived in the same way by individuals, generations, social groups and types of society.



This course will draw on a corpus of documents and works from the social sciences (anthropology, history, sociology, political science) as well as literary writings and cinematic fictions. The students' own imaginations and reflections will be solicited to write short texts and provide examples and illustrations of imaginary futures based on their own knowledge and references (scientific, literary, cinematographic, historical... etc.).



Required text

Patrice Franceschi, Dernières nouvelles du futur, Grasset, 2019, ISBN-13. 978-2757874431,

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