Introduction
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Christine Mortimer
Abstract
In 1867, American William Torrey Harris founded the Journal of Speculative Philosophy, proposing that thinking should transcend politics, cultural issues and racial differences to uncover systemic roots of problems. Harris envisioned a future where multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary cultures of problem-solving were prevalent. This utopian ambition, initially criticised as naïve, is now relevant in today’s academic climate, of inter-, multi- and trans-disciplinary research. This edited volume explores the idea of Utopian Methods, which involves speculating into the future to find alternative solutions to systemic challenges. The concept of system transition is inherently future-oriented, focusing on the potential of future possibility and radical rejection of current systems. The ideas in this book offer an alternative way to explore social and environmental challenges, which are leading to the collapse of ways of living and the preservation of the most privileged.
Abstract
In 1867, American William Torrey Harris founded the Journal of Speculative Philosophy, proposing that thinking should transcend politics, cultural issues and racial differences to uncover systemic roots of problems. Harris envisioned a future where multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary cultures of problem-solving were prevalent. This utopian ambition, initially criticised as naïve, is now relevant in today’s academic climate, of inter-, multi- and trans-disciplinary research. This edited volume explores the idea of Utopian Methods, which involves speculating into the future to find alternative solutions to systemic challenges. The concept of system transition is inherently future-oriented, focusing on the potential of future possibility and radical rejection of current systems. The ideas in this book offer an alternative way to explore social and environmental challenges, which are leading to the collapse of ways of living and the preservation of the most privileged.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of Figures vii
- Notes on Contributors viii
- Acknowledgements x
- Introduction 1
-
Scaffolding
- Foreword to Part 1 9
- Speculating with Glitches: Keeping the Future Moving 13
- Investments in the Imaginary: Commercial Drone Speculations and Relations 36
- Dystopias for Discourse: The Role of the Artist in a Rapidly Reconfiguring City 66
- New Images of Thought: On Two Kinds of Speculative Realism 80
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More-than-Human Worlds
- Foreword to Part 2 103
- Speculative Listening: Melting Sea Ice and New Methods of Listening with the Planet 107
- It Matters What Designs Design Designs: Speculations on Multispecies Worlding 125
- Edible Speculations: Designing Everyday Oracles for Food Futures 145
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Speculative Ethics
- Foreword to Part 3 171
- Beyond Speculation: Using Speculative Methods to Surface Ethics and Positionality in Design Practice and Pedagogy 175
- Touring the Carbon Ruins: Towards an Ethics of Speculative Decarbonisation 200
- Science Fiction, Reconfigured Social Theory and the Anthropocene Age: Exploring and Thinking about Planetary Futures through Fictional Imaginaries 224
- The Debate 250
- Index 256
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of Figures vii
- Notes on Contributors viii
- Acknowledgements x
- Introduction 1
-
Scaffolding
- Foreword to Part 1 9
- Speculating with Glitches: Keeping the Future Moving 13
- Investments in the Imaginary: Commercial Drone Speculations and Relations 36
- Dystopias for Discourse: The Role of the Artist in a Rapidly Reconfiguring City 66
- New Images of Thought: On Two Kinds of Speculative Realism 80
-
More-than-Human Worlds
- Foreword to Part 2 103
- Speculative Listening: Melting Sea Ice and New Methods of Listening with the Planet 107
- It Matters What Designs Design Designs: Speculations on Multispecies Worlding 125
- Edible Speculations: Designing Everyday Oracles for Food Futures 145
-
Speculative Ethics
- Foreword to Part 3 171
- Beyond Speculation: Using Speculative Methods to Surface Ethics and Positionality in Design Practice and Pedagogy 175
- Touring the Carbon Ruins: Towards an Ethics of Speculative Decarbonisation 200
- Science Fiction, Reconfigured Social Theory and the Anthropocene Age: Exploring and Thinking about Planetary Futures through Fictional Imaginaries 224
- The Debate 250
- Index 256
