In 1867, American William Torrey Harris outlined the principles of a new journal, the Journal of Speculative Philosophy. In his article he suggests that to think is to move beyond politics, cultural issues and racial differences so that it is possible to capture the systemic roots of the troubles. That by combining cultural and artistic influences with academic study it is possible to engage in political mobilisation, to uncover the systemic roots of today's challenges. Harris himself was speculating a future that we now have, one of multi- , inter- and trans- disciplinary cultures of problem- solving (Moffatt et al, 2021). This edited volume speaks to Harris's utopian future.

In the same article, Harris speaks about a new way of doing academic practice, which combines study with cultural and artistic production, and political mobilisation. It is a utopian ambition, one that was highly criticised as naïve in Harris’ own time. And yet, it seems somewhat apt for today's academic climate of multi- , inter- and trans- disciplinary research cultures.

The utopian ambitions of Harris and his co- founders must necessarily remain a stubborn visibility, amid all the visible and invisible problems presented by seriously researching the world. The chapters in this book engage with the idea of Utopian Methods, of speculating into the future to find alternative solutions to systemic problems. The idea of system transition is inherently future- oriented and is framed in the potential of future possibility and radical rejections of current systems. The ideas in this book offer an alternative way of exploring the social and environmental permacrises that have meant, for many, the collapse of ways of living as we know them in order to preserve those of the most privileged.

For such change it is insufficient to improve and reiterate current systems. Instead, Utopian Methods are about rejecting the status quo for a radical newer, fairer, careful system for all that we are yet to imagine and inhabit. The chapters in this book maintain a critical lens on the main futuring methods that have dominated problem- solving practices relying on the techno- fix. Instead, we are working with plural notions of futures inclusive of other epistemological understandings, in order to support social change.