Dark Futures: When the Lights Go Down

Dark Futures provides a new way of thinking about the world. Light is everywhere, often uninvited as a by-product of our contemporary lives. Darkness meanwhile appears unwanted, yet is essential to our wellbeing, other species, and our planet. When we consider what futures are possible, they tend to direct us to visions of either a shiny, frictionless world which is light and bright, or at the other end of the spectrum they are fearsome, shadowy dystopias. This book reclaims darkness to think through alternative futures which are neither environmentally catastrophic nor technologically evangelical. Dark Futures proposes a new philosophy, in which darkness is embraced as an emancipatory space for positive thought and creative expression. By revealing fresh ideologies that can empower sustainable and ethical relationships with our ecologies and our technologies, this book sets out a new vision for the futures of collective life.