Futures Literature

-- a university of arizona course on methods and approaches for studying the future

There are two basic types of futures literature: specific to futures (e.g., techniques, studies/reports, case histories) and information directed at different audiences that contains a good deal of futures-related information.

Specialized Publications (print and web sources)

Frequently large shifts are seen early by specialized study commissions, reports of selected people that others believe are visionary, or by groups generally considered on the fringe of current thought. Special attention should be given to information from these sources, especially when it seems counter intuitive. Many publications have "future" oriented articles (including Newsweek, Time, USNews&World Report, and Fortune). Generally these broad-based magazines have an "annual outlook" issue published in December/January, that is useful for gaining perspectives intended for the magazine's audience. For examples, go to Keeping Up (below).

 

Web related and electronic source information (from this site)

Check futures organizations and general futures and specific topical information web pages.

 

Web related and electronic source information

Lists developed by other sites

 

Web related and electronic sources outside the "futures field"

There are many information sources for the future that do not contain "future" in their title or description. Places to find these are associations, subject matter specific publications, and general publication. You can find about these by searching for articles or interviews on futures topics; (via a search engine) and finding where the articles are published. Then go to those publications to find others. A very small list is in Keeping Up (below).

 

Keeping Up

A listing of journals, newsletters, and other ways to keep up.

 

Special encyclopedias for futures work (and other broad topics)

 

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Prepared by Roger L. Caldwell