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Oxford Ministry for the Future: dread turned to hope for the world

Published

Award winning author Richard Powers and academics from Oxford’s humanities, sciences and social sciences debate climate change, dislocation and the arts.

This latest Oxford Ministry for the Future (OMF) event took place at Oxford’s historic Sheldonian Theatre in the wake of news of President Elect Trump’s electoral success in the US. The Pulitzer prize winner, Richard Powers, author of environmental bestseller Playground, was joined by a panel of distinguished academics in discussion of climate change, dislocation with the natural world and the key role the arts can play in changing behaviour - and the future. 

Professor Anette Mikes, OMF’s convenor and risk-management expert from Oxford Saïd and Hertford College, introduced the event, which included Professor of Shakespeare Studies, Emma Smith; Professor of Biodiversity, Nathalie Seddon; Professor of Anglophone World-Literature Pablo Mukherjee,  and Professor of Environmental Economics, Cameron Hepburn.

Anette writes: ‘Countering despair and dread, the series of conversations, stories, reflections and a powerful closing song by the acclaimed folk singer Sam Lee all evoked a shared sense of kinship, sadness, bewilderment, hope and wonder. 

'These emotions were juxtaposed against the strong awareness of the destruction wrought by society on the Earth’s ecosystems, as well as the emerging and fusing responses from technology, the arts and nature-based solutions, Participants repudiated human exceptionalism and affirmed the value of bringing diverse knowledge systems and disciplines in conversation with one another.’

Magic occurred at the Sheldonian: for me what was magical was how the initial sense of dread changed to a sense of hope.

Anette Mikes

Associate Professor of Accounting, Saïd Business School

That afternoon, she added: ‘We went on a journey - and came to understand the breadth of the technological, social and psychological transformations that need to occur for our species to regain a more harmonious relationship with the ecosystems that our very survival depends on. Also, those changes can only take place after a long period of foundational work. The hope is that once that groundwork is laid, the trigger points for change become much lower. That is also the hopeful lesson from the history of progressive social movements.’

‘While the arts are at the forefront of that foundational work, we as educators and researchers working on the technological, political-economy and social challenges of our time must play our part as well.'

Watch a recording of the event on YouTube.