(Re)imagining higher education for sustainable futures

Abstract

The pace of technological and environmental changes has reached unprecedented levels in recent decades. It is unlikely that the accelerating pace of these changes will slacken from "the rising gale forces our species has set in motion" (Jones 1998:231). Critical futures scholars argue that the status quo future is unsustainable and that contemporary society needs to envision and work towards more sustainable futures. Consideration given to futures concerns is important for higher education so as to aid us in understanding the role of futures images in our thinking, planning and decision making, all of which could lead towards (un)sustainable paths for the future. In this essay I explore implications that the envisioning of sustainable futures might have for the university.



(South African Journal of Higher Education: 2003 17 (3): 90-96)