Richard Slaughter: Difference between revisions
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*'''SLAUGHTER, R. A. (ed) Studying the Future''', Bicentennial Futures Education Project. Commission For the Future, Melbourne: xiv + 82 pp (1989) ISBN: 0-642-14281-5 |
*'''SLAUGHTER, R. A. (ed) Studying the Future''', Bicentennial Futures Education Project. Commission For the Future, Melbourne: xiv + 82 pp (1989) ISBN: 0-642-14281-5 |
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The book forms part of the Bicentennial Futures Education Project (BFEP) 1988-1990. The project worked with a number of schools to introduce a futures perspective into the curriculum. The book provides an introduction to some of the key ideas behind futures education and included a range of approaches to classroom work. It is divided into three sections: Perspectives; The project: and Resources. Copies of the book were widely distributed to schools and educational organisations around Australia |
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Revision as of 11:17, 25 December 2013
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Dr Richard Slaughter | |
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Richard Slaughter Richard Slaughter | |
Born | Richard Slaughter Late 1940 London, London |
Occupation | Professor/author |
Nationality | England |
Education | Lancaster University, PhD. futures studies,1982 |
Subject | Futures studies, journalism, Integral perspective, social innovation |
Literary movement | Futures studies |
Notable works | Director at Foresight International Foundation professor at Foresight International published 20 books on futures studies |
Spouse | Jill |
Website | |
http://authors-unlimited.org/author/richard-slaughter |
Richard Slaughter is a scholar and writer in the field of futures studies, applied foresight and social innovation. He is the co-director of Foresight International, and has guest edited a number of journals, including Futures Research Quarterly[1][failed verification], Foresight [2][failed verification], and World Studies Journal[1][failed verification].He work has centred on developing the theory and practice of futures in education; the transition from empirical to critical futures work; bringing Integral theory into futures, and working with others to stimulate effective responses to what he regards as a "global emergency" created, in part, by the confluence of peak oil and global warming.[citation needed]
Life and work
![]() | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (December 2013) |
From 1969-1975, Slaughter took up residence in Bermuda with his wife Jill. There he began a study of natural sciences, assisted by David Wingate, the government conservation officer at the time, and in 1975 produced his first book Birds in Bermuda.[3] He noted that even in this unique group of sub-tropical islands there was little concern for the future. It had become a teeming mid-ocean metropolis and US military base. Protests and preservation efforts appeared to have little effect. Stimulated and also saddened by these experiences, Slaughter moved back to England with his wife and began to pursue a bachelor's degree that incorporated some aspects of futures studies at the School of Independent Studies at Lancaster University. There he developed a work program for himself titled "Science, Technology, and the Human Future". After achieving a first class honours degree in 1978, Slaughter began his post-graduate work at Lancaster in the Department of Educational Research under the supervision of John Reynolds from 1978-1982.
While Slaughter was working on his PhD, he helped to raise his two sons, Rohan and Lorien, with his wife. His father died in 1982. The academic world[who?] tolerated Slaughter's enthusiasm for future studies but was not greatly interested in supporting it. He successfully completed his PhD thesis and oral exam, after which he worked towards refashioning parts of his thesis into a publishable form. He simultaneously read a variety of literature relating to the human condition, including the works of Lewis Mumford, Hannah Arendt, Aldous Huxley and Ken Wilber. Slaughter's work to promote future studies in educational settings began during his graduate work at Lancaster, where he taught an option for futures study and curriculum design within the Master's program. He began to get his work published in the journals Foundation and Futures . During this time he also developed a course for futures studies and penned a corresponding textbook, Futures Tools and Techniques.
After several years of travel, lectures, and publication, Slaughter was hired as a lecturer in futures and social education in the Institute of Education at the University of Melbourne. During that time Slaughter wrote the books Future Concepts and Powerful Ideas[4] and The Foresight Principle.[5] He also co-wrote Education for the 21st Century with Professor Hedley Beare. After his five-year contract came to an end, while still in Melbourne, he set up the Futures Study Centre and worked as an independent writer, editor and occasional consultant. During this period he edited a three-volume work of futures literature The Knowledge Base of Futures Studies (KBFS).[6] This went through several book and CD-ROM editions, the last of which was published in 2005. In 1998 he was commissioned with Adolph Hanich [7][failed verification] by the Vice Chancellor of Swinburne University of Technology to draft a feasibility study that led to the establishment of the Australian Foresight Institute in 1999. Slaughter was offered and accepted a professorial fellowship to lead the institute in that year. During 2001 to 2005 he also served as the President of the World Futures Studies Federation. In 2004, Slaughter left the AFI to set up Foresight International [8]. Since then he has edited and written further books and journals, as well as many papers. He has produced new CD-ROM materials, developed new web-based resources and continued working in the field of futures studies around the world.[citation needed]
Evolution of a disciplinary perspective
![]() | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (December 2013) |
From forecasting to integral futures
When Slaughter was researching his PhD (Critical Futures Study and Curriculum Renewal, Univ. of Lancaster, 1982) the dominant themes of the futures literature were focused on methods such as trend analysis and forecasting. Slaughter's work, however, asserted that human and social factors had been widely overlooked in empirically based approaches. This led to his proposals for "critical" modes of enquiry that incorporated these factors. At the same time, scenario building was coming into wide use. While Slaughter acknowledged the value of scenarios that allowed practitioners to better explore divergence in the forward view, he felt that something was missing. This emerged in two stages: first, through the development of critical futures studies that itself drew on critical traditions and sources of enquiry; second, through the Integral project that was emerging from the work of Ken Wilber over a couple of decades. Whereas Slaughter had brought social factors into futures methods, the Integral perspective introduced an extended account of human and social development based on the work of developmental psychologists. From such sources, Slaughter proposed to up-date and expand the range of futures methods by drawing on and applying them within a futures context; hence the name "Integral Futures". While this led to some early concerns within the futures community[who?], one of the prizes[which?] awarded to Slaughter by the Association of Professional Futurists (APF) was for a special issue of the journal.
Strategic to social foresight
During his five years at the Australian Foresight Institute Slaughter had situated the notion of Strategic Foresight at the core of the Masters Program offered at Swinburne University. It was his view that "foresight refreshes strategy". This formulation later became standard throughout the world and remains in wide use today[where?]. Over time, however, Slaughter became dissatisfied with the term, coming to believe that it applied most adequately within organisations. At that point he began to think and write about extending the concept into that of Social Foresight, which he conceptualised as a society-wide awakening to the implications of major futures concerns (such as peak oil, global warming and the Sixth Extinction) that were already beginning to be acknowledged more widely. His 2004 book Futures Beyond Dystopia: Creating Social Foresight[9] aimed to provide a rationale and foundation for this approachand was favourably reviewed in a number of publications[which?].
"The global emergency" and descent futures
Since leaving academia in 2004 Slaughter continued to travel, write and research. During this time he grew to believe that humanity was steadily heading into what he considered to be a trap of its own making. He believed that although The Limits to Growth project had addressed many of the main issues – particularly those pertaining to the impossibility of endless growth within a finite system – but had been widely ignored. So he spent a couple of years gathering material and in 2010 published The Biggest Wake-Up Call in History.[10] This set out his view of where humanity was headed, and received a "Most Important Futures Work" award from the APF.[11] The book outlined what Slaughter regarded as "the problem", and also considered a variety of strategies for responding to what he saw as a growing global emergency. Two years later he followed this work with an anthology of some of his shorter work called To See With Fresh Eyes: Integral Futures and the Global Emergency.[10].Both books have since been published as eBooks. [10]. [citation needed]
Awards and recognition
- 2006 – The 2005 CD-ROM version of The Knowledge Base of Futures Studies was voted one of the ‘most important futures works of 2008’ by the Association of Professional Futurists."[12]
- 2009 – The special issue of Futures on Integral Futures was voted one of the ‘most important futures works of 2008’ by the Association of Professional Futurists.[13]
- 2010 - Slaughter was voted one of the world’s "all-time best futurists" by the Foresight Network, Shaping Tomorrow<[14]
- 2012 – The Biggest Wake-Up Call in History [15] was voted as one of the "most important futures works of 2008" by the Association of Professional Futurists.[citation needed] The relevant award category was that of "published works that analyse a significant futures issue".[16].
Australian Foresight Institute / Strategic Foresight Program
Founded in 1999 at the Swinburne University of Technology, the Australian Foresight Institute was designed as a specialized research and post-graduate teaching unit. The original aims of the institute were to provide a global resource centre for strategic foresight, create and deliver professional programs, carry out original research into the nature and uses of foresight, focus on the implementation of foresight in organizations, and work toward the emergence of social foresight in Australia.[17]
A research program on Creating and Sustaining Social Foresight was funded and supported by the Pratt Foundation and produced a series of monographs.[18]
The institute was disestablished in 2005, with the teaching program subsumed into Swinburne University of Technology's Faculty of Business and Enterprise, with the new name of The Strategic Foresight Program.
Publication
Books
- SLAUGHTER, R. A. Birds in Bermuda. Bermuda Bookstores Ltd., Hamilton, Bermuda: ix + 158pp (1975) With photographs by the author.
The story of colonisation of Bermuda and the impacts of human development on the island's flora and fauna. Profusely illustrated with the authors own photographs. Foreword by David Wingate, Government Conservation Officer
- SLAUGHTER, R. A. Recovering the Future. Grad. School of Environ. Science, Monash University, Melbourne: iv + 189 pp (1988) ISBN: 0-86746-667-7
This book attempts to fill a gap in the futures literature by showing how a critical futures approach can facilitate reconceptualisations of the global predicament and moves beyond crisis and despair. It was linked to a series of guest lectures in the Graduate School of Environmental Science, Monash University, in 1988. It is divided into four sections: Futures now - exploring the extended present; Taking issue with 'the way things are'; Futures in education - a quiet revolution?; and The answer is a journey.
- SLAUGHTER, R. A. (ed) Studying the Future, Bicentennial Futures Education Project. Commission For the Future, Melbourne: xiv + 82 pp (1989) ISBN: 0-642-14281-5
The book forms part of the Bicentennial Futures Education Project (BFEP) 1988-1990. The project worked with a number of schools to introduce a futures perspective into the curriculum. The book provides an introduction to some of the key ideas behind futures education and included a range of approaches to classroom work. It is divided into three sections: Perspectives; The project: and Resources. Copies of the book were widely distributed to schools and educational organisations around Australia
- BEARE, H. & SLAUGHTER, R. A. Education for the 21st Century, Routledge, London: xii + 180 (1993). ISBN: 0-415-11523-X paperback; 0-415-06832-0 hardback
Schools have traditionally drawn their inspiration, curriculum and rationale from the past. Without being naively predictive, this book sketches in aspects of the future outlook and shows why a change of focus from past to future is needed. It outlines several macro-changes now sweeping the world, and explores some of the implications for the way(s) education is understood and implemented. The sources of young people's fears are acknowledged, and long-term solutions are suggested through a combination of practical responses and a deliberate re-thinking of worldview assumptions
References
- ^ a b "Futures". World future society. April 15, 1975. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ "Foresight". Emerald. April 15, 1975. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ "Birds in Bermuda". Foresight International. April 15, 1975. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ "Futures Concepts and Powerful Ideas". Foresightinternational.com.au. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ "The Foresight Principle: Cultural Recovery in the 21st Century | Foresight". Foresightinternational.com.au. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ "The Knowledge Base of Futures Studies: Pro Edition (CD-ROM)". Foresightinternational.com.au. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ "Adolph Hanich". Swinburne University. April 15, 1975. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ "Foresight international". Swinburne University. April 15, 1975. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ "Futures Beyond Dystopia – Creating Social Foresight". Foresightinternational.com.au. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Home". Foresightinternational.com.au. Retrieved December 23, 2013. Cite error: The named reference "foresightinternational" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Biggest Wake Up Call Responses 2009 – 2013". richardslaughter.com.au. August 25, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
- ^ "Foresight". future works. April 15, 1975. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ "Futures and integral futures". Foresight. April 15, 1975. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ "Shaping tomorrow". foresight networks. April 15, 1975. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ "The biggest wake up call history". Foresight. April 15, 1975. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ "APF". future works. April 15, 1975. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ^ "Australian Foresight Institute | Swinburne Research Bank". Researchbank.swinburne.edu.au. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
- ^ "Ten Foresight Monographs". richardslaughter.com.au. August 25, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
External links
- Foresight International
- Jose Ramos, From Critique to Cultural Recovery AFI, 2003.