ECR Narrating Futures Symposium - Blog

by Cecilia M J Thirlway - PhD candidate in Classics, University of Bristol

Attending the Narrating Futures Symposium at the University of Bristol, Cecilia has written about her experience at the event, which was focused on how anticipations and imaginaries of futures are narrated (or narrativized) in a variety of settings, from fiction and games to foresight programmes, non-fiction, and future scenarios:

“Considering questions of futures technology and security requires attention not just to issues of design, functionality and adoption, but also to the human, societal and technological context in which such technologies will operate. ‘The future’, of course, is unknowable, but it is still vital to imagine, anticipate and plan for threats and opportunities as yet unknown.

The future may not yet exist, but imaginaries of possible futures are very much in evidence in the present, all around us and at all times. One of the ways in which people consider possible futures is through stories. Narratives of different future possibilities proliferate across a wide range of media, from speculative fiction to journalism, corporate storytelling and beyond. Future-oriented narratives are used to provide means for thinking about and imagining possible, plausible, desirable, and undesirable futures; furthermore, the pervasive and persuasive power of narratives means that they are studied in many different academic disciplines, from the arts and humanities to social sciences, science, technology, medicine, the law and many others.

Our recent symposium on Narrating Futures - held at the University of Bristol in May 2024 - brought together PhD scholars, early career researchers and independent practitioners in an interdisciplinary gathering to share research directions and ideas, and to discuss how narratives can both expand and delimit our capacities to anticipate different future possibilities. The symposium is a step towards creating a community of early career researchers interested in expanding our understanding of how narratives can provide both a common language and mental models for engaging with futures, as well as exploring narratives as a method of inquiry and a research tool.

Discribe Challenge Fellow Professor Genevieve Liveley set the scene on the first day with an opening keynote describing the work of the Digital Security by Design (DSbD) Challenge and the Discribe project, and exploring some of the challenges of futures thinking and why stories are ‘good to think with’ (as well as why, in some cases, they might not be). A further contribution to inspire the gathering came from Will Slocombe, RISCS Fellow and Co-Director of the Olaf Stapledon Centre for Speculative Futures at the University of Liverpool, who drew parallels between historiography and how the past is narrativized, and possible approaches to considering narratives of futures. Dr Slocombe also touched on the ways in which narratives can be deliberately co-opted to support particular perspectives.

There followed papers from the symposium speakers covering topics as diverse as the factual and fictional nature of future imaginaries in literature; how participation and co-creation of narratives can affect audience engagement; how narrative tools could be used to open up possibilities for social change; and how future narratives were employed in antiquity as a means of navigating the uncertain space of both the future and the deep, mythical past.

Other papers focused on the importance of futures narratives in responsible innovation; how online discourse can be interpreted to elaborate future imaginaries; and how predictive analytics are being deployed to grapple with complex, multifaceted social issues.

The symposium provided a stimulating, fascinating and inspiring space for discussion for the speakers and the audience, and has already borne fruit through the creation of a Narrating Futures mailing list to build a community with a shared interest in the topic. This early career researcher community has the potential to make a significant contribution to creating greater awareness and sociotechnical understanding of the role of narratives in imagining secure digital futures.”