PhD Thesis Title: Exploring Futures studies. Retracing the emergence and development of the Prospective movement in France and abroad (1957-1990s)
PhD Completion Date: 2026
PhD Supervisor & Co-Supervisor: Amalia Ribi Forclaz & Annabelle Littoz-Monnet
This thesis will aim to retrace the birth and developments of the French method of future thinking: Prospective. Alternately a philosophy, a discipline and a state tool, it underwent numerous changes, reflecting a shifting sensibility toward the notions of progress, modernity, and who should shape the future. Often understood through an occidental lens, this thesis will follow another path by first analyzing the birth of this movement against the backdrop of the end of the French Empire and then investigating postcolonial networks of expertise and the uses of the method in the “Third World”.
Margaux Guigal is a PhD candidate at the International History and Politics Department at the Geneva Graduate Institute. She holds a master's degree in International History and Politics from the Geneva Graduate Institute and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and History from the University of Geneva.