Identities, citizenship, communities
This challenge is particularly concerned with understanding the development of cultural identity, citizenship and community in the context of globalising/localising forces, the role that developments in science and technology may play in these processes, and the implications of any emerging trends for education.
The challenge is being led by Professor Helen Haste (Department of Psychology, University of Bath; Visiting Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education).
Some of the areas that may be covered by this research challenge are listed below (but please note that this list is only indicative, and not exhaustive). Outcomes will be posted in the findings section from autumn 2008 onwards (subscribe to the e-newsletter to keep informed of all the latest developments, and go to the Beyond Current Horizons blog for up-to-the-minute debates and discussions).
Social/economic/political trends
What are the key trends in terms of migration/immigration, cultural and ethnic diversity in the UK and how might this develop from now until 2025-2050?
What are the counter-narratives and edge cases to the dominant narratives about local/global relationships - and what would bring these to dominance?
How are individuals and communities managing and creating local/global identities?
What are the trends towards cohesion or isolation and how might these play out from now until 2025-2050?
How might different political and faith-based communities develop from now until 2025-2050?
What are the trends in language/second languages in the UK from now until 2025-2050?
What trends might we see in political organisation and identity? (and equally, in apathy or resistance to political and cultural identities)
How might trends in global/cultural identities play out differently in different socio-economic groups?
Scientific and technological trends
How might developments in the use of online and virtual environments inform the development of cultural identities and communities?
What role might communications technologies play in influencing the trends towards cohesion or isolation and how might these play out between now and 2025-2050?
How are diverse technologies used to produce and shape personal and group cultural identities, and how might this develop over the next 17 years?
Are there any trends in genetic development/brain science or other fields that have the potential to intervene significantly in questions of cultural and ethnic identities?
How might these different trends and tensions interact to create diverse potential futures? And what are the factors that might contribute to these different futures coming to pass?
Education, technology and society
How might we need to support people to move between and across different communities, and to manage their cultural identities?
What approaches to education for diversity might be investigated?
How might digital or other technologies facilitate or enhance educational responses to changes and tensions in cultural identity?
What cultural and religious communities might form a context for education strategy from now until 2025-2050?
What trends in religious or faith-based education might play out over the next 17 years, and how might these be influenced by developments in online or other technologies?
