Critical futures studies
Critical futures studies is futures studies that works on the present. It asks from which assumptions, world views and myths images of the future arise, and in whose interest. Its aim is to recognise and challenge the status quo so that alternative futures become thinkable. In doing so, it also brings in the voices that have so far been missing from debates about the future.
From the introductory workshop: strategy, mission statement, scenario, the future is fixed before the debate begins. In the room, critique counts as a brake and falls silent, while gut feeling senses that things could be different. With Causal Layered Analysis, the groups then uncover the deep structure of their images of the future.
Sohail Inayatullah shaped Causal Layered Analysis as a central method. Jennifer Gidley’s “The Future: A Very Short Introduction” (2017) offers a way into the field.
The Critical Futures Studies community was co-initiated by Jonas Drechsel, who also co-hosts its podcast and teaches at HS Niederrhein. His essay “Applied Critical Futures Studies: Stance Before Method” (Journal of Futures Studies, 2026) asks how stance gets into practice.
Guiding questions
- Where are we looking at futures from today?
- Whose future is this? Who is missing from it?
- Which myth lies beneath the sentence everyone nods to over coffee?