As someone who is quite comfortable with the “sage on the stage”
approach to teaching, moving to more experiential learning required
me to move outside of my comfort zone and to become willing to
risk the unpredictability of consultative methods. More important-
ly, the results for students seem clear: each time I have used this
method, many students have commented (specifically in evalua-
tions) that the opportunity to consider the future and to learn an
actual method for policy-making and analysis was among the most
valuable aspects of the course. In addition, several students have
voluntarily emailed me afterwards to note that being conversant
with the methods and concepts of foresight and futures studies
helped them to succeed in the interview process for professional
policy advisor jobs.
Peter Bishop’s Teach the Future initiative (http://www.teachthefutu-
re.org) is a brilliant resource and provides multiple examples of how
engaging with the future can enhance the social science and policy
classroom. Even so, there is ample room for new and collaborati-
ve initiatives in this area. This is particularly so for initiatives that
deploy digital technologies in innovative ways to enable relatively
inexpensive and accessible cross-national and cross-regional policy
futures teaching collaborations. In addition, with the recent emer-
gence of the Society for Decision-Making under Extreme Uncer-
tainty (DMDU) and emerging scholarship published on anticipatory
governance (see, for example, Jonathan Boston or David Guston),
this is an auspicious time to reclaim the good work that has already
been done. We can leverage such initaitives to reinvigorate the po-
licy studies/futures studies relationship.
Boston, Jonathan (2017) Safeguarding the Future: Governing in an Uncertain World.
Wellington, New Zealand: Bridget Williams Books.
Guston, David (2013) “Understanding ‘Anticipatory Governance.’” Social Studies of
Science 44(2): 218 – 242.
Amy L. Fletcher is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and
International Relations at The University of Canterbury. Her major area of teaching
and research expertise is science, society and innovation, with a focus on biotech and
space futures. She can be reached at [email protected]
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