Possibility Studies and Societal Futures

This book explores how people imagine, create, and sustain societal futures through the interplay of imagination, change, and preservation. Drawing on possibility studies and creativity research, it uses the concept of creative preservation as a unifying framework for understanding how communities creatively renew and take care of what already exists rather than only pursuing radical novelty.

Emerging from discussions held at the 4th International Conference of Possibility Studies, the volume begins at the level of global social and ecological systems, examining the extent to which social innovation can function as a force of preservation and regeneration. It then turns to intergenerational creative continuity and ageing to reveal novelty in what societies neglect in old age, before reflecting on methodological considerations from new materialism for addressing work on societal futures. The book then critically discusses the past and present disruptions in academia and proposes perspectives to care for and preserve the possibility for research to contribute meaningfully to societal change. It concludes by exploring the transformative potential of wonder and astonishment in education as a practice of caring and an attitude of exploring individual and collective possibilities.

A thought-provoking response to the growing concerns around how social scientists can provide frameworks to adjust to and contribute to a more caring and sustainable society, this book is for researchers and students in sociology and social theory, education and pedagogy, philosophy and critical theory, cultural and performance studies, creativity studies, sustainability studies, STS, and futures and possibility studies.