Anthropologists have long been interested in the future and, as a result, anthropology and science fiction share certain understandings about culture and society. Rather than concentrate on anthropological science fiction, this essay loolcs to the ways professional anthropologists have utilized sf in the years following World War II; it critiques the cybernetic-functionalist assumptions that underlie their visions of possible futures. By constructing “the future” as a rationalization of contemporary trends, anthropologists have projected highly conservative visions based on stability anel homeostasis-visions that are inimical to radical change. Still, the historical intersection of anthropology and sf holds a great deal of potential. By examining assumptions about the future that govern work in the present, anthropologists have the opportunity to develop genuine alternatives rather than futuristic capitulations to the historical status quo.
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Samuel Gerald Collins (2003) studied this question.
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