Critical Historiography, Informed Futuring: Bridging Foucauldian Genealogy and Futures Studies

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD Student, Department of Educational Management, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Educational Management, Tonekabon Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran

Abstract

Understanding social phenomena in the complex contemporary world requires approaches capable of analyzing the multilayered dimensions of reality across time, from the past to the future. Through a systematic literature review conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 protocol, this article introduces a qualitative multimethod framework that integrates thematic analysis, Foucauldian genealogy, and Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) within a unified analytical cycle. The primary objective is to address the question of how critical historiography can lead to informed futuring. Searches of Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, SID, and MagIran identified 487 documents; following a two-stage screening process, only three key studies meeting the criteria for methodological integration were selected. These studies were Ahmadi et al. (2025) in Iran, van der Merwe (2024) in South Africa, and Wright (2002) in Japan. The findings indicate that this framework not only reveals hidden patterns of power, the coloniality of knowledge, and exclusion, but also prevents the repetition of ineffective models by grounding future scenarios in a critical understanding of the past and present realities, thereby enabling the design of more equitable, ethical, and context-aware futures. This approach moves research beyond the descriptive realm and transforms it into a process for reconstructing meaning, justice, and possibility.

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Main Subjects

Strategic Futures Studies
Volume 4, Issue 15 - Serial Number 15
September 2025
Pages 119-138

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History

  • Receive Date: 10 May 2025
  • Revise Date: 25 June 2025
  • Accept Date: 30 August 2025

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