Bringing the future back in: Temporal registers and the media

This chapter focuses on various conceptions of the future and supplying theoretical tools that are adequate for a world that is increasingly globalized. It elaborates on the importance of changing future narratives for studying the future. The chapter looks the cultural significance of memory for the temporal existence and how the past present future relationship is subject to historical changes. It presents the chronological sketch indicating the transformed and transformative role of the future. The chapter outlines for a conceptual framework resonating with a globally interconnected world. Finally it illustrates the theoretical ramifications contemporary media disaster representations carry for the conceptual language about the future. The cosmopolitan turn suggests that particular orientations toward the past are being re-evaluated against the background of global memory and media scapes. Perceiving the future through the prism of risk perceptions reveals how representations of catastrophes of various kinds are challenging the ontological security once provided by the temporal narratives of nation-states.