Histories of the Future

This course is for students interested in how ideas about what the future of human societies would look like have developed over time, and in the impact of those ideas on cultural, social and political norms. We will look carefully at examples of early modern prophecy before turning to the more recent emergence of theories of economic and social progress, plans for utopian communities, and markedly less optimistic and often dark visions of where we’re headed. We will also explore the roles capitalism, popular culture, and science have played in shaping the practices and vocabularies associated with imagining the future.