What's in a name: Reflections on Ziauddin Sardar's ‘the namesake’

This paper argues that the semantic difficulties surrounding the term ‘futures’ and its many variants have significantly impacted this field's legitimacy in public policy circles, as viewed from the experiences of this author. Lacking legitimacy, it has been difficult to build the number of aca...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Futures : the journal of policy, planning and futures studies planning and futures studies, 2010-04, Vol.42 (3), p.195-198
Main Author: Tonn, Bruce
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
DIVERSIFICATION
Education
ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY AND ECONOMY
FORECASTING
Future
Futures (of Society)
Legitimacy
PUBLIC POLICY
Sardar, Ziauddin
Semantics
Social Science Research
Studies
United States of America
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Summary:This paper argues that the semantic difficulties surrounding the term ‘futures’ and its many variants have significantly impacted this field's legitimacy in public policy circles, as viewed from the experiences of this author. Lacking legitimacy, it has been difficult to build the number of academic programs in the United States needed to improve the field's legitimacy, branding, and quality. In addition to issue of semantics, the field needs to improve its central messages while maintaining its core strengths; diversity of thought and commitment to future generations.
ISSN:0016-3287
1873-6378
DOI:10.1016/j.futures.2009.11.004