A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Feminist expertise and the political work of building alternative futures
Authors: Lamberg, Emma; Perheentupa, Inna
Publication year: 2026
Journal: Sociological Review
ISSN: 0038-0261
eISSN: 1467-954X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00380261261421329
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00380261261421329
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/515909845
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
Sociological discussions on alternative futures have proliferated in recent years, yet the role of professional labour and expertise in building transformative social change remains underexplored. This article provides an original contribution by introducing the concept of transformative expertise, enabling a new framework that bridges the sociology of futures with feminist debates on expertise. Drawing on unique empirical data from interviews with feminist professionals engaged in networks that advocate alternative economic thinking and policies, we investigate how specialised knowledge is mobilised to imagine and build alternative, socially just futures. We identify three interrelated dimensions of transformative expertise: (1) exposing the harms of hegemonic future imaginaries; (2) carving out paths to desired futures; (3) sustaining potentialities for socially just futures. Our findings reveal that managing temporalities and developing a temporal orientation are pivotal in the struggle for alternative futures based on the identified potentialities for change. By illuminating the link between the politics of the future and the politics of knowledge, we advance theoretical and practical insights into how feminist expertise can shape alternative, utopian imaginaries and prefigurative politics.
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Funding information in the publication:
This work was supported by the Kone Foundation (grant numbers 202009133 and 202304973) and the Research Council of Finland (grant number 363129).