Work

Back to the Future. Sociological Perspectives on Expectations, Aspirations and Imagined Futures

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: Since the 1990s sociology has rediscovered a theme already present in the discipline’s foundational theories: the salience of future perceptions for social action. This article provides an overview of “the sociology of imagined futures”, a diverse but still scattered research field explicitly engaged with expectations, aspirations and future orientations. A review of recent scholarship emphasizes how an imagined future perspective is related to a wide range of topics and allows for innovative vantage points on persisting sociological research concerns, such as inequality, social identities, agency, coordination, power or understanding innovation and change. By systematically highlighting these contributions, but also by pointing to promising lacunae and perspectives that merit further development, this article shows how a reorientation of sociological research “back to the future” seems a promising way forward.

Source: European Journal of Sociology

DOI: 10.1017/s0003975622000339

Author: Lisa Suckert

Institution: Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies

Language: English

Topic: Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,255

Funders: University of Pennsylvania, University of Oxford