Reparative futures

Abstract

The past is present in all future making activities. However, there is more that futuring processes can do to engage with past-present relationships, namely by bringing to the fore frameworks of reparation and redress. This article explores how ideas of reparative action may offer generative resources for Futures Studies. It suggests that in order to create futures characterised by justice it is essential to listen to and engage with ongoing histories of repression, violence and domination and find ways to talk about the past that support individuals, communities and nations to reimagine and remake social relations that are just and inclusive. The article explores reparative futures as they are negotiated in practice, through the lens of their pedagogical potential and ethical demands, and as world-making political possibilities. In doing so, it highlights the necessity for enhanced dialogue between Future Studies and the ‘reparative turn’ within the humanities and social sciences. We explore the tensions and unresolved questions of reparative futures along with the possibilities for future-making practices characterised by justice, care, creativity and humility for humans and nonhumans.