Futures Studies From the Experience of a Sociologist Who Tries to Be a Futurist

Abstract

Even though many futurists have been interested, or even trained, in the social sciences, the relationship between futures studies and the social sciences has been, and still is, ambivalent, especially at the institutional and academic level. In part this is because some social scientists, and in the case of this article, some sociologists, have had doubts about the rigor and use of certain futures studies. The relationship between the fields is analyzed historically as well as by reflection on the author's own experience in teaching and research in both areas. What is changing, and what can change, in the future to the benefit of both areas is briefly discussed.

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