| dc.description.abstract | We, living beings, find ourselves in a rapidly changing world. Humanity can no longer deny
that it is damaging and having an indisputable impact on our planet. The effects of these changes
are becoming increasingly unpredictable, but one thing is certain: this century is a time of
irreversible changes. Therefore, this thesis aims to demonstrate how futural imaginations
impact our “being” and “moving” in the present world. This study draws from three months of
ethnographic research among members of Extinction Rebellion (XR) Amsterdam who are
campaigning for a climate-just world. It presents how XR members imagine climate futures,
resulting in different orientations and how this translates into activist citizenship. First, I present
how XR portrays two dichotomous futural imaginations: going extinct or surviving. However,
the rebels of XR are not a homogenous group as they demonstrate that their futural ideas are
personal, multi-layered, and more nuanced. Second, I elaborate on how these imaginations
trigger feelings and cause rebels to orientate differently towards the future. Two orientations
that strongly emerged were hope and anticipation – in the form of eco-anxiety. Third, I
demonstrate how futural imaginations and orientations impact the way of being and acting in
the present. I conclude that one can see an activating process among the rebels: The futural
imaginations affect rebels in the present as they become activist citizens. In turn, the rebels
hope they can live a worthwhile life by becoming activist citizens; a moral person that fits the
ethics and morals of XR and maybe somehow influence the future. | |
