ABSTRACT

This paper contributes to the ‘future’ methods literature by exploring the methodological potentials of material methods in qualitative research on young women’s imagined futures. Existing research has demonstrated how producing knowledge about imagined futures remains a challenge, often leading to abstract or generic accounts of such futures. Arguing for a double focus on materiality as method and the materiality of methods, this paper extends material methods to innovatively study futures. By considering the narratives about imagined futures generated with and by ‘future materials’ brought by participants to an interview, the paper demonstrates that this approach is productive for gaining insights that go beyond generic accounts. That is, via the materiality of the objects, specific imagined futures become ‘within reach’ for participants, with the object serving as an anchor for these future narratives. Empirically the paper draws on data from a longitudinal qualitative study of young women’s imagined futures in Australia.

摘要

本文通过探索材料方法在对年轻女性想象未来的定性研究中的方法论潜力，为“未来”方法文献做出了贡献。现有研究表明，产生关于想象未来的知识仍然是一项挑战，通常会导致对此类未来的抽象或通用描述。本文主张对作为方法的物质性和方法的物质性双重关注，将物质性方法延伸到对期货的创新研究。通过考虑参与者在接受采访时带来的“未来材料”产生的关于想象未来的叙述，该论文表明，这种方法对于获得超越一般描述的洞察力是有效的。也就是说，通过对象的物质性，特定的想象未来对参与者来说变得“触手可及”，对象作为这些未来叙述的锚。根据经验，该论文借鉴了对澳大利亚年轻女性想象未来的纵向定性研究的数据。