Future Scenarios: Expanding the horizon of tense present
Course code
YID7024.YM
old course code
Course title in Estonian
Tulevikustsenaariumid: pingestatud oleviku horisondi laiendamine
Course title in English
Future Scenarios: Expanding the horizon of tense present
ECTS credits
6.0
Assessment form
assessment
lecturer of 2025/2026 Spring semester
Dirk Hoyer (language of instruction:English)
lecturer of 2026/2027 Autumn semester
Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.
Course aims
The course aims to teach students to anticipate and project future societal developments in a structured way, and to enhance their capacity to develop narrative frameworks that capture uncertainty and possibility. The inter-disciplinary approach encourages students to critically examine current future projections and develop informed alternative imaginaries.
Brief description of the course
The future cannot be predicted. However, different academic disciplines-such as anticipation studies, future studies or foresight studies- have developed methods that allow us to speculate in an informed way about what could happen in the future. Futures Thinking has its premise in its name, there is not just one future but many possible futures. How will the world look like in 2050? How will people live, work, love, think, make art, build homes, organize their society or spend their leisure time? The future dimension requires a critical examination of the present and an imaginative leap into the world of possibilities.
The students will learn techniques and methods to make an informed guess about future developments, such as 2x2 matrices, weak signal analysis, speculative fabulation, and develop future scenarios. Futures thinking is a systematic, informed and creative way to expand present horizons.
The students will learn techniques and methods to make an informed guess about future developments, such as 2x2 matrices, weak signal analysis, speculative fabulation, and develop future scenarios. Futures thinking is a systematic, informed and creative way to expand present horizons.
Learning outcomes in the course
Upon completing the course the student:
- understands key concepts of future studies and anticipation studies;
- identifies factors that can influence future development;
- applies tools of future projection;
- uses storytelling techniques;
- applies scenario development methods;
- critically evaluates forecasts of the future.
- understands key concepts of future studies and anticipation studies;
- identifies factors that can influence future development;
- applies tools of future projection;
- uses storytelling techniques;
- applies scenario development methods;
- critically evaluates forecasts of the future.
Teacher
Dirk Hoyer