Summary

Storying Just Futures is a new joint project of Create the Change, the UNESCO BRIDGES Flagship Hub, and Humanities for the Environment that aims to advance critical environmental justice studies by giving graduate students, early career faculty, and members of the public opportunities to integrate storytelling and futures thinking into their research, community-facing work, and career planning. 

Launched in the Spring of 2025, the project seeks to equip the next generation of environmental humanists and social scientists with the skills, visions, and support they need to play a role in shaping a future where justice, imagination, and community are central to sustainable design and planning of a “future we want.” Led by Arizona State University (ASU) humanities and social science faculty with expertise in environmental justice studies and with experience working across the disciplines and in communities, the project was launched with an event where we convened a two-day consultatory meeting with invited experts Giovanna Di Chiro (Swarthmore College) and Matt Henry (National Renewable Energy Laboratory). The second day focused on embracing the adjacent possible and collaborative imagination, and the sessions and panels were co-led by HFE affiliates Gary Dirks, Jennifer Richter, Indulata Prasad, Ed Finn, and Ruth Wiley. Our invited collaborator, Giovanna Di Chiro, delivered a lecture , “”Re-making ‘Living Worlds’ – From the Ground Up,” that helped us better understand the significance of world-making strategies of building, imagining, and recreating. Her talk raised the following guiding questions:

Figuratively, what time is it in the clock of the world? How does the clock of the world metaphor help us understand both the challenges we face, vis a vis, the SDGs? How do we resist extractive futures and build ones rooted in care, justice, and regeneration? How can interdisciplinary collaboration help reimagine the world from the ground up?

These questions guide the planning of the 2026 Storying Just Futures Convergence which will bring affiliates back together again to plan a curriculum and activities for a Spring 2026 “Convergence” that will include public lectures, workshops, and collaborative sessions focused on alternative research and career pathways in the environmental humanities, climate science policy, urban planning, and environmental justice. Ten competitive fellowships will be offered to graduate students and early career faculty.  Project faculty will be providing mentorship and opportunities for publication and network-building to fellows through 2027.