Gulf Futures (308-0-70)
Instructors
Haya Gabr Al-Noaimi
Meeting Info
Northwestern Qatar Room 2-255: Tues, Su 10:00AM - 11:15AM (AST)
Overview of class
This course seeks to disrupt mainstream narratives about the Gulf's ‘future'; a rigid concept that often comes from consultants and policymakers. Instead, it explores what the future might look like when (and if) it is imagined by overlooked, marginalized individuals and communities. Students will explore the future through past histories, what the future is (and isn't), the nature of non-linear/fractured time, and how to ‘make sense' of common/non - sense. Students will look at the Future as imagined by the Gulf city-state, examining conceptions of modernity, belonging, transience, and citizenship. They will also explore the relationship of humans to technology, and the possibilities it presents in shaping alternative identities and realities. The course uses Futures ‘games' and role-playing as a learning method to help practice ‘speculative futuring' by engaging students to ‘game out' possibilities for the future. The goal of this course is to encourage students to think about the ‘far-off future' intellectually, and to engage with futurist thinking as a practical skill that can create tangible change in their surrounding communities as well as in their own personal life.
Registration Requirements
- Prerequisites: None
- Open to sophomores and above
- Open for Cross-Registration
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Registration is reserved for sophomore, juniors, and seniors only.