Future Politics

PS 374 (Future Politics) is a seminar that pairs social science and political philosophy with science fiction to help students practice imagining alternative political, social, and economic futures. The course emphasizes reading, discussion, and building concepts for thinking about how politics changes as technology, environments, and populations change. The most recent syllabus is here: PS 374 Fall 2025 syllabus.

William Gibson once said, "We live in an incomprehensible present. And that what I'm actually trying to do is illuminate the moment. And make the moment accessible. I am not even really trying to explain the moment. Just trying to make it accessible." If the aim of a teacher is to help students ready themselves for a future or thrive in a present, then, as a teacher, I worry about how to best live in and shape this present and future. Politics will and should change in the face of other changes (in technology, the environment, and populations). So far, some undergraduate students at the University of Illinois and I have been seeking ways to understand and judge the politics of an incomprehensible present and unpredictable future by reading and discussing canonical political theorists paired with science fiction authors. We aim to practice imagining a future politics in an effort to develop a flexible political imagination, following Jamais Cascio's idea that futurism is not about prediction but about mental readiness. We had some minutes of fame. You can see our syllabi from 2021, 2020, and 2013. You can see an overview of the Future Politics class here.

Politics of the Future

I was part of a group of political scientists who met to discuss the future of politics and what new questions new politics raises for political science at the Politics of the Future Workshop in June of 2014.

Admiravel Mundo Novo

I played a role in the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation funded conference "Brave New World" at the Casa da Musica in Porto, Portugal in June of 2015. Bruce Sterling and I had a conversation to wrap up the conference shown in this video. I had an interview about science fiction and political theory as ways to train the mind to confront the future in the Portuguese newspaper, Publico, here. Cara Wong and I drafted an essay on what you would want in a child's room in an Internet of Things (IoT) home after we visited Casa Jasmina in Turin.

Other Activities

I discussed how science fiction can help us train ourselves to think about future politics (with some digressions on the utility of reading Marx along with science fiction authors) on Australia National Radio's Science Fiction: Earth's repair manual? I helped my friend John Ahlquist envision the UCSD San Diego 2049 event.