Future Identities to Come

Citation from Mohammad Reza Tajik

The future is a mystery, a complex subject, tied to our total familiar objects. According to Hobbes no one has true vision of tomorrow since it has not yet been taken shape. However, we are outlining our future by our approaches and our perceptions. Ilya Prigogine expresses the unpredictability of the future while our attempt to shape it is conducive, for all the nature of objects that have not yet cast their shapes. Thus, the future is not only dependant on us rather on the genre of human and takes its shape by human's reflections and reactions. Ultimately, visions of future as difficult as it may be, is necessary and intriguing. Necessary, due to its potential for high risks where minor challenge would be advantage. Intriguing, for sensitizing our curiosity and urge for aesthetics. Conclusively, future belongs only to those discerning the right time, preoccupied by recognizing the intrigue and attraction of 'cognition' and 'construction' of the future. History tend to forget those who are not involved in casting changes and will entangle those who are imprisoned in their dogmatic thoughts.

The connoisseur of future perceives future as concealed in present and past. Hence, predictions will only be possible through retrospective perception of past and present. Iranian Society, in its present context, is on the threshold of its future or its creation. The phenomena of globalisation repeatedly is challenging the Iranian identity. Globalisation through de-construction of traditional approaches is in the verge of transforming the process of identification.

In the other words globalisation cause transformative dialectic in which political, cultural and identity boundaries fall apart while societies integrate into global society. Diverse cultures become closer to one another, popular cultures taking shape while simultaneously stressing on identity specifics.

Manuel Castells elaborates that in the last quarter of 20th century along with technological revolution, transformation of capitalism and extensive erosion of the nation states, we have been witnessing serious contests of collective identities who defend people's power over life and environment by challenging globalisation. These protests vary due to general outlines of cultural diversity and historical roots of collective identities.

On the other hand, some opine that globalisation as grand narrative of our era, identical to other narratives constitute of power, resistance, cognition, context, marginal, insider, other, input, output, serious interpretation, unserious interpretation, language games, languages of game, real, unreal, myth and.....as the result, in this narrative context, innovative significations take place and replace identification. In this concept preoccupation with identity has been extremely influenced by indetermination stemming out of rapid changes, extended connectivity and massive cultural expansion.

According to Richard Jenkins our social plans are not reflecting our social prospects any more. We are faced with identities and natures so unknowable while we have become rather unknown to ourselves. In contrary to previous generations, the future is uncertain and unpredictable to us.

Consequently, the emerging concept of 'globalisation' has significant impact on identity-making culture due to repressed time/space and claim of space for social life that provided the possibility of extended social life..........................