Pigott, Anna

Anna Pigott
Start date:
October 2013
Research Topic:
Imaginations of the future in Wales and their role in societal responses to global environmental change
Research pathway:
Research Supervisor:
Professor Dave Clarke, Dr Amanda Rogers
Supervising school:
Department of Geography,
Primary funding source:
ESRC Studentship

This research explores how futures are imagined in Wales, in light of environmental change and the notion of the ‘Anthropocene’. Increasingly, imaginations of the future are seen as influential to social change because they are a part of how possible futures are pre-experienced and set in motion, and yet the ways in which futures are imagined and predicted are given little attention. Wales provides an interesting context for this research as its Government is one of only a few in the world to have sustainability as a central organising principle in its constitution, an approach which includes the pioneering One Wales: One Planet manifesto and the Well-being of Future Generations Act. This project engages with a range of case studies in Wales, from environmental art projects to Government initiatives, and aims to contribute to discussions and understanding about the role of imagination (particularly imaginations of the future) in behavioral and political responses to global environmental change.