As humans, we orient ourselves toward the future by projecting it. This talk explores the intricate social dynamics of projecting and shaping collective futures. It draws upon findings from a large-scale study focused on election forecasts and COVID-19 projections in France, Israel, and the US, while also taking a glimpse at the ongoing crisis of democracy in Israel. Using a combination of in-depth interviews with journalists, computational analysis of media texts, as well as surveys and focus groups with citizens, I investigate the construction of collective futures throughout the communication cycle and assess the relationships of projections and behaviors. Ultimately, the presentation critically evaluates the role that the media play – and can potentially play – in influencing the trajectory of our collective futures.
Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt is Professor of Communication at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Communication. She received her Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania in 2011. Her work, in the fields of political communication and journalism, has been published in the leading communication journals and received prestigious international grants and awards. Her talk draws on the ERC-funded project “Mediating the Future: The Social Dynamics of Public Projections.”
