Theorising Futurities in the Social Sciences

!!!   EXTENDED DEADLINE  !!!

In times of crisis and social change, the question of the future can become increasingly pressing. Amidst the threat of continued economic recession, extensive budget cuts, and the growing intrusion of government into the sphere of academic research, it is understandable that the future has become shrouded in discussions of impending catastrophe and the indisputable sensation that things can only be getting worse. This edition explores this by asking how the future is being represented and played out in the contemporary social world. It asks how we, as social scientists, theorise futures in times of apparent social crisis and change, and asks how these dynamics may affect our methodological and epistemological approaches. Must we always strive for ‘positive’ futures? And what could come out of a social science driven by ‘negativity’? We therefore welcome papers that reflect upon the following topics:

• Theories of futurities
• Theorising futurities in times of social crisis and change
• Problematising apocalyptic / utopian models for theorising futurities
• Representations of the future in the contemporary social world
• The role of the future in social science methodology and epistemology

This CfP also marks the introduction of new editors, Alexa Athelstan and Rosemary Deller, to the editorial team of GJSS. With this change in mind, our discussion of the future would not be complete without reflection upon the future direction of GJSS. As a result, we will also be welcoming general feedback on the aims and paths pursued by the journal, including suggestions on future themes. If you would like to contribute feedback, please email comments of 300 words or less to our liaison officer, Adam Pearson: adampearson89 [at] gmail.com.

Submissions:

Articles (5000-8000 words), book reviews (1000-1500 words), short essays (2000-3000 words) and visual materials are all welcome, as well as any information on seminars, lectures, conferences, blogs and other events and spaces offering new platforms for the understanding of futurities within the social sciences.

All submissions must be anonymous and accompanied by the GJSS submission form, which can be downloaded from HERE.
Please include an abstract, a short author bio and 3 to 5 keywords.
Detailed submission guidelines and formatting instructions can be found HERE.

All written contributions should follow the Chicago Manual of Style guidelines, to be found HERE.

Deadline for all contributions is 20 February 2012. Please email all contributions and enquiries to the Chief Editors of GJSS, Alexa Athelstan and Rosemary Deller: editors [at]  gjss.org.

Suggestions and enquiries regarding book reviews should be directed to Book Review Editor, Melissa Kelly: melissa.kelly [at] kultgeog.uu.se.

Papers submitted to GJSS will undergo an initial selection process by the guest editors with the purpose of assessing and eventually focusing their relevance to the GJSS issue theme. Accepted papers will then undergo a double-blind peer review process.

Publication date envisaged June 2012.