Global Issues and Futures Thinking (HUM165)

Futures Thinking is a multidisciplinary method for thinking constructively and creatively about the future, starting from the assumption that the future is not something that will happen to us tomorrow but is being created by us today. Students will be introduced to the major changes that will occur in the next 10, 20 or more years, including global warming, inequality, global health, and the future of work, among others. In each area, students will understand how experts have created scenarios to cope with uncertainty, identify dynamics, develop policy choices, assess alternatives, and ultimately, make decisions. Students will be immersed in Futures Thinking through discussing and debating influential reports – for example, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the OECD, the United Nations, and McKinsey Global Institute. Students will then work collaboratively to assess the potential local impact of these global trends and evaluate local examples of Futures Thinking.

• Students will be familiar with the methods of ‘futures thinking’ and scenario approaches to problem solving.
• Students will understand the basics of key global issues facing governments, businesses, and individuals.
• Students will interpret and critically assess key influential reports about future scenarios from international organisations and research institutions.
• Students will place global issues in a local context and evaluate local responses and decisions on these issues.