Last week's reading group session was on 'The Limits of the Future.' We had a brilliant discussion around 'the reparative turn,' educational racism, the problems with prophecy and utopianism, and the discourse around so-called "megacities." Our next session is on 'Protecting the Future' 🌎 🌌 ✨

There's still to submit to our 'Languages of the Future' conference! 🌎 📚

We are excited to announce that our conference 'Languages of the Future' will be held on 5th June (in person at UCL) and 6th June (online). 📚 🎤 🌏

If you are interested in presenting, please submit a 150-200 word abstract by April 28th and a short author-bio to languagesofthefuture@gmail.com

In this week's session, 'Ethnography of the Future,' we discussed Pierre Bourdieu's 'The Forms of Capital' alongside work by @peterbrowning.bsky.social and Luisa Martín Rojo. The conversation was illuminating (as always!), ranging from the politics of taste to the utopianism of protest movements 🌏 📚

Last week's reading group session was on 'Prologue and Prophecy.' Moving between Greek tragedy and the narratives of inaction that attend climate catastrophe, we discussed the comforts and dangers of certainty, the plurality of determining forces, and the power of hope as a future-oriented affect 🌏

CALL FOR PAPERS – We are inviting reviews, creative pieces, podcast proposals, and academic articles alike alike on the subject
of ‘Languages of the Future’ for a special issue of @ucl-ias.bsky.social's Think Pieces ✍️

Last week we held the third session of our Languages of the Future reading group. Focusing on the theme of 'Spirits of the Future,' we discussed Jacques Derrida's notion of 'hauntology,' the vitality and persistence of indigenous ways of knowing, and the afterlives of waste 🌍 🌠 📖

🚑 Professor Neil Vickers explores the history of the medical humanities: where they came from, their relation to other fields, their historical turning points, and whether they are likely to survive.

Sign-up now for this series by the Health Humanities Centre at @ucl-ias.bsky.social ⤵️

Session two of our Languages of the Future reading group was just as inspiring and thought-provoking as the first! We discussed the roots and blindspots of archival imaginations, along with connected themes such as intergenerational memory and the role of art in excavating and conserving the past 🌎

📢Calling all UCL ECRs & PhDs in A&H and SHS 📢
(if you are not in A&H or SHS you just need to find a suitable collaborator who is!)
The IAS Octagon Grant is open for applications 🎉🙌🏽
Apply by 24 Feb - get writing!
www.ucl.ac.uk/institute-of...

In the next session of our Languages of the Future reading group next Wednesday (29/01/25) we will be discussing 'The Futures of the Past' – specifically in relation to the creation and curation of archives. Derrida's ARCHIVE FEVER will be a key touchstone. What other texts would you like to see? 📚

We had a fantastic first session of our Languages of the Future reading group @ucl-ias.bsky.social. Focusing on excerpts from David Farrier's FOOTPRINTS and Robert Macfarlane's UNDERLAND, we discussed 'future fossils,' interwoven temporalities and communicating across deep time 🪨💫👁️