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79781-01 - Seminar: Mapping Futures (3 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers |
Manfred Max Bergman (max.bergman@unibas.ch, Assessor)
Zinette Bergman (zinette.bergman@unibas.ch) |
| Content | Reflecting about the future from a social science standpoint is one of the more demanding tasks a researcher or practitioner can undertake. Yet nearly all individuals, organisations, regions, and institutions are planning and making consequential choices on the basis of partial, conflicting, and often contradictory information. The present moment is marked by disruptions comparable in scale to those of the industrial and digital revolutions, while large-scale geopolitical realignments and rapid technological change raise fundamental questions about how societies will be organised, who will bear the costs of transformation, and what it will mean to live and work in a few decades' time. Some analysts argue that talk of paradigm shifts is systematically overstated; others contend that developments in artificial intelligence and automation will alter the basic conditions of human life in ways that existing frameworks are ill-equipped to anticipate. This seminar takes both positions seriously and explores the space between them. Drawing on a selection of themes at the forefront of future-readiness and sociotechnology, the seminar proceeds from the premise that social science has a distinctive and underutilised contribution to make in futures thinking as a discipline capable of identifying who may benefit, who is marginalised, and what kinds of collective responses become possible or foreclosed. The specific topics covered will be negotiated with participants during the first session, ensuring the seminar remains responsive to current developments and the research interests of the group. |
| Learning objectives | By the end of this seminar, participants will be able to: - engage critically with academic and policy-oriented writing on future trends, so-called future-readiness, and futurecasting in sociotechnology, assessing the assumptions, evidence, and blind spots that shape different projections - analyse how anticipated technological and geopolitical developments may affect individuals, groups, regions, and societies in uneven and differentiated ways - articulate how sociological and broader social science perspectives can contribute to futures thinking, including the identification of risks, trade-offs, and opportunities that purely technical or economic analyses tend to overlook - reflect on the methodological and ethical challenges involved in making claims about the future from within a social science framework |
| Admission requirements | Nach neuem Curriculum sind ein erfolgreicher Abschluss des Grundlagenmoduls sowie der Einführung in das Wissenschaftliche Arbeiten die Voraussetzung für den Besuch von Seminaren. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Course auditors welcome |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Thursday | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday 17.09.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Thursday 24.09.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Thursday 01.10.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Thursday 08.10.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Thursday 15.10.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Thursday 22.10.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Thursday 29.10.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Thursday 05.11.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Thursday 12.11.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Thursday 19.11.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Thursday 26.11.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Thursday 03.12.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Thursday 10.12.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Thursday 17.12.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Soziologie, Hörsaal 215 |
| Modules |
Modul: Politik, Entwicklung und soziale Ungleichheit (Bachelor's degree subject: Sociology (Start of studies before 01.08.2026)) Modul: Wirtschaft, Wissen und Kultur (Bachelor's degree subject: Sociology (Start of studies before 01.08.2026)) Module: Economic Sociology (Bachelor's degree subject: Sociology) Module: Extension Social Sciences BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Political Science) Module: Political Sociology (Bachelor's degree subject: Sociology) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Fachbereich Soziologie |