History of the Future: An upcoming Future Tense event.

History of the Future: An Upcoming Future Tense Event

History of the Future: An Upcoming Future Tense Event

Future Tense
The Citizen's Guide to the Future
Nov. 1 2017 1:26 PM

History of the Future: An Upcoming Future Tense Event

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Retrofuturism can be funny, but there’s more to it than kitschy humor.

monsitj/Thinkstock

Visions of a technology-driven future fueled the imagination of 20th-century America. While some predictions, such as driverless cars, have become a reality, innovations like cities on the moon remain out of reach.

Regardless of their accuracy, past visions of the future provide us invaluable insight about the hopes, values, and anxieties of their creators and about the times and places from which they sprung. What can kitschy visions of robotic kitchens tell us about how we envisioned a post–World War II domestic life? How did film and television influence our understanding of emerging technologies?

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Join Future Tense on Nov. 14, at noon, at the New America office in Washington, to explore yesterday’s visions of today and their lessons for tomorrow.

Lunch will be served. For more information and to RSVP, visit the New America website.

Agenda:

Noon-12:15 p.m.: A Brief History of Thinking About The Future

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Neal Gabler
Author, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination
Visiting professor, MFA Creative Writing and Literature Program at SUNY Stony Brook

12:15-12:45: Envisioning the Future

How We’d Get Around
Joey Eschrich
Editor and program manager, Center for Science and the Imagination, Arizona State University

How We’d Work
Ytasha Womack
Author, Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture and Post Black: How A New Generation Is Redefining African American Identity
Director, A Love Letter to the Ancestors From Chicago

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How We’d Live
Katherine Mangu-Ward
Editor in chief, Reason
Future Tense fellow, New America

How We’d Entertain
Patric M. Verrone
Writer and producer, Futurama
Future Tense fellow, New America

12:45-1:15pm: What Do Our Future Predictions Say About Us?

Ytasha Womack
Katherine Mangu-Ward
Neal Gabler
Patric M. Verrone

Moderator:
Joey Eschrich

1:15-1:25: Does the Future Have a Future In Washington? 
Andrés Martinez
Editorial director, Future Tense
Professor of practice, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU

Future Tense is a partnership of SlateNew America, and Arizona State University.