Analytics for Social Good (code: 51792)

Analytics focuses on transforming data into insights by applying advanced analytical methods, based on mathematics, statistics and artificial intelligence models and algorithms to improve the performance of an organization. On this course, key topics and issues in Analytics will be presented and discussed with a focus on their applications in social, healthcare, sustainable and humanitarian organizations.

In the first part of the course, the analytic tools and methodologies will be introduced. In the second part, case studies from humanitarian, social, healthcare and environmental organizations (such as NGO humanitarian organizations, social care organizations, public services, hospitals or primary healthcare institutions) will be presented and discussed. Examples are: home healthcare logistics and scheduling; planning disaster response and preparedness for improved decision-making; locations of primary healthcare centers, or schools; planning humanitarian aid distribution; planning sustainable transportation; etc.

Keywords: Health, Operations, Logistics, Sustainability, Environment, Organization, NGO, Planetary Wellbeing, Collective Action, Public Good

Fields: Natural Sciences, Mathematics-Analysis, Statistics,  Economics, Business

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Art, Mind and the Brain (code: 51794)

This course focuses on a solid dialogue between Neurosciences and Humanities by posing crucial questions on sight and aesthetics. If “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, what is behind the eye of the beholder? Why certain technical breakthroughs are so efficient? Are there inescapable rules of Art? Does biology condition what we can experience as art? Does it condition Art and Music? Can we gather reliable knowledge? Are we prone to believe? Why is Science counterintuitive? What is in our genes and what in our environment? Is the Nature vs. Nurture question a false problem?.

The course attempts to frame the above questions into the current scientific knowledge of the brain. We analyze how sensory systems build up a representation of the world, focusing on vision and audition in connection to painting and music. This leads to a general discussion on the “perceptual rules of art”, aesthetic universals and Beauty. It continues with the question of the foundations of knowledge, the limits of knowledge and the evolutionary roots of belief, linking neurosciences with long lasting obsession in Western philosophy: the grounds of knowledge. Finally, a discussion on the so-called “critical periods” of sensory development and the question of nature and nurture as framed by current biological evidence is carried out as conclusion.

Keywords: Painting, Epistemology, Cognition, Nature/Nurture

Fields: Life Sciences, Anthropology, Psychology, Biology, Music, Philosophy, Art

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Barcelona the City and its History (code: 51600)

Once labeled by Newsweek magazine as the “coolest city in Europe,” Barcelona enjoys the reputation of a cosmopolitan city with a great international projection. Like all places, however, it is not without its complexities and contradictions. Behind a glossy and tourist-friendly façade, the city has a complex history.

This course introduces the student to the city of Barcelona by studying its past and analyzing its present. This interdisciplinary course covers subject in history, geography, art, architecture, and urban planning.  Materials include images, maps, academic and literary texts, videos, field studies, and documentaries. We will also discuss issues relevant to people living within the city of Barcelona today.

Keywords: Urban planning, Catalan culture, Cultural Studies, Identity

Fields: History, Art History, Sociology, Cultural Studies, Urban Studies, Geography, Literature

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Building a Brain (code: 51795)

Our brain is the main source of our creativity and, in general, our ability to interact with the world. Major scientific efforts have been made in the last century to understand the mechanisms underlying its operation. These endeavours have revealed an astonishing degree of complexity, involving billions of specialized neurons communicating with each other through trillions of plastic connections. But is that level of complexity necessary for a brain to function?

This course will explore the brain’s minimal requirements, building on both our knowledge of simple organisms such as bacteria and worms, and our age-old attempts to build artificial intelligence systems. We will review the history of artificial intelligence and neuroscience, focusing on the connections that the two fields have had, on and off, over the years. Following the classic maxim of Richard Feynman, “what I cannot create I do not understand”, we will work in teams to attempt to build the simplest possible brain out of interacting components.

The course has no prerequisites, since the lectures will be accessible to students of all disciplines, including non-science students, and the practical work will be undertaken by multidisciplinary teams, in which students will support each other and cross-fertilize using their respective backgrounds. The goal is thus to bring together a healthy mix of students from sciences, engineering, and the humanities.

Keywords: Natural Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence, Complexity Systems, Information Processing

Fields: Life Sciences, Anthropology, Physics, Neurosciences, Technology

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Contemporary Spanish Art (code: 51607)

This course provides a dynamic, multidisciplinary introduction to Contemporary Art in Spain which will cover the main art-related events, and also some political, historical, and cultural issues that might be relevant to understand the artistic production. Recent classics as well as emerging artists will be discussed, together with a wide range of artistic practices, from photography to afterpop music, including installation art, performance art and comic art.

Although the course offers several relevant keys for understanding Spain’s historical context and specific conditions, it also aims to offer a more general understanding of contemporary artistic strategies and topics. Lectures and class debates will be supplemented with four visits to art centers and exhibitions, which are of obligatory attendance. 

Keywords: Globalization, Museum, Gender, Aesthetics, Afterpop, Performance, Comics

Fields: History, Cultural Studies, Art, Photography, Sociology, Music, Hispanic Studies

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Ethics in a Globalization and Sustainability Context (code: 51796)

Although globalization and sustainability have become familiar terms, they are at cross purposes. The way globalization has been conducted with an emphasis on the economic sphere—international trade and cross-border investment flows, has created a series of crises that threaten the ethical values and beliefs of a sustainable society. The primary goal of a business is usually seen as making a profit, however, the path towards achieving this goal can, in many instances, create dilemmas regarding justice, equity and honesty.

Ethics goes beyond what is or is not legal as it is concerned with the ethical reflection of what represents right and wrong behavior in a complex, dynamic, and global environment. On this course we will discuss ethical approaches to global issues that are enhanced by the process of globalization and increasing multiculturalism, e.g. the environment, global citizenship & governance, poverty and inequality, peace and conflict, human rights, health and the effects of technology among others.

Because global issues are complex, this course is not about providing students with formulas for making decision-making easier; instead the ideas and frameworks introduced in this course are designed to actually make decision-making more difficult, but will help students to reason more effectively and develop their sense of responsible judgment.

Keywords: Development, Governance, Society, Justice, Interculturality, Technology

Fields: Biology, Humanities, Philosophy, Political Science, Law, Economics, Business, Cultural Studies, Contemporary Studies

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From Hipocrates to Personalized Medicine: Healthcare Adapted to Societal Changes (code: 51797)

This course will provide an historical perspective between medical practice and Biomedical Science and human societies, and will look at how these two areas feed into each other, leading to an increased lifespan of all human populations as well as to the eradication and irruption of new diseases. The course begins with medical practice through the ages and progresses to cover the current medical challenges of a global world and how scientific discoveries since the second half of the 20th Century have shaped medicine.

We will address the technical, ethical, and socio-economic challenges of today’s societies, which have shaped their evolution, including the current COVID-19 pandemic and the different approaches adopted by different countries. The rise of genetic and regenerative medicine, and the possibility of treating patients on a personalized basis, represent a new challenge, which will force dramatic changes in how we conceive the broader aspects of medicine, from biomedical research to the regulatory matters and economic aspects of healthcare (biotechnological companies, Big Pharma).

Keywords: Genetics, Stem Cells, Ethics, Ageing, Globalization, Planetary Wellbeing

Fields: Biology, Humanities, History, Sociology, Medicine, Economics, Pre-Modern Studies, Contemporary Studies

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Gender-based Violence and International Protection of Human Rights (code: 51798) (TBC)

It was as recently as 1992 that a UN Committee (the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) asserted that gender-based violence against women was a form of discrimination and a human rights violation and not just a private matter in which the State should not interfere. Since then, a number of instruments and mechanisms have been developed within the UN Human Rights System as well as in regional human rights’ protection systems to address such violence and, in recent years, to also include protection of other persons affected by gender-based violence, in particular, the LGBTIQ+ community.

For this purpose, the historic evolution that led to frame gender-based violence as a human rights violation and analyze the existing instruments and tools available at the international level (both UN and regional) to ensure that states adequately address gender-based violence against women and LGBTIQ+ individuals will be reviewed.

The course will focus on international binding instruments, including international conventions (both, general and specifically addressing gender-based violence) and jurisprudence from international courts, as well as non-binding instruments such as recommendations from specialized bodies and organs at the UN and regional levels. It will examine the existing mechanisms and procedures available at the regional and international levels for individual complaints or communications as well as for reports of wider situations of gender-based violence, and  the developments to address gender-based violence in International Criminal Law, including the evolution in jurisprudence towards framing gender-based crimes as international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Keywords: Sexuality, Feminism, LGTB, Material Culture, Human Rights, Justice, Globalization

Fields: Law, Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, Political Science, Humanities

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Global Marketing and Culture of FC Barcelona (code: 51664)

European football (soccer) has become a major cultural vehicle in the global world, both in terms of economical impact and social influence. This course focuses on how this sport shapes the social, economical and cultural realms, and tries to interpret the different links between the game itself and the dimensions surrounding it: media coverage, aesthetic value, political targeting, public and corporate policies... In that context, FC Barcelona remains a unique case, studied in business schools as an example of global market branding, while passionately lived by millions of fans all over the world. Moreover, Barcelona city offers a privileged standpoint to better understand football as a growing issue within contemporary culture.

Keywords: Barcelona, Football, Sport Impact, Identity

Fields: Communication, Marketing, Cultural Studies, Business

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Great Ideas that Have Shaped our World: From the Axial Age to the Robot Revolution (code: 51799)

This course builds on the idea that ethical-religious, philosophical, and scientific imagination is vitally important in the development of human societies. It focuses on key religious, ethical-political, and scientific innovative ideas that have revolutionized and shaped society from antiquity to modern times. The course deals not only with understanding the context of the emergence of these ideas, but also their impact on the contemporary world and mentality. It will begin with the “Axial Age” (Karl Jaspers), characterized by a series of ethical-religious, scientific and philosophical innovations from China to Ancient Greece, and move chronologically to the Renaissance, Enlightenment and the current digital and robot revolution.

The substantive and methodological approach is not Eurocentric and reductionist, but rather global and interdisciplinary. The course adopts a problem-solving approach based on understanding why and how new and creative ideas - from Buddhism and monotheism to Marxist materialism, genetical engineering and quantum physics - answer different types of challenges and queries - existential, epistemic, or ethical-political. The classes are structured through lectures and open discussions based on texts and videos/documentaries. The emphasis is on discussing primary sources (e.g. texts by Confucius, I. Newton, Ch. Darwin, S. Freud, A. Einstein) and relevant videos/documentaries, with the aim of understanding revolutionary ideas, their relevance and their long-standing influence on current practices and societies.

Keywords: Imagination, Science, Revolution, Society, Innovation, Globalization, Technology

Fields: Ethics, Political Science, Religion, Philosophy, Intellectual History

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Innovación e inteligencia artificial en el gobierno: la transformación creativa de la gobernanza urbana (code: 51800)

El curso presenta y estudia las principales iniciativas de transformación e innovación en los modelos de diseño y presentación de programas públicos que a día de hoy se están desarrollando en el mundo. El uso de la inteligencia artificial y la introducción de modelos disruptivos de “data governance” está cambiando los paradigmas sobre la forma de afrontar la gestión pública y la relación que se establece entre la ciudadanía y la esfera pública. Esto nos da la oportunidad de replantear de forma creativa los modelos de gobernanza y en especial, aquellos que presentan un impacto “más próximo” al ciudadano, de ahí el énfasis del curso en la perspectiva urbana. La perspectiva analítica del curso combina los siguientes enfoques de una forma transversal: ciencia política, filosofía, ética, psicología social, ingeniería y economía.

Keywords: Estudios Urbanos, Políticas Públicas, Inteligencia Artificial, Transformación Digital, Gobierno Abierto (Urban Studies, Public Policies, Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation, Open Government)

Fields: Filosofía, Ética, Humanidades, Ingeniería, Economía, Ciencia Política (Philosophy, Ethics, Humanities, Engineering, Economy, Political Science)

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Innovation and the Law. How Technology Changes the Legal System (code: 51801)

The course aims to give the students a general overview of the core legal institutions, while introducing the students to the main legal problems attached to the new technologies. The reading assignments and the classroom discussions will illustrate how technology changes traditional legal concepts and the way in which the legal rules are applied. A basic introduction to contracts, property, torts from a comparative perspective will be followed by an explanation of the relevant technologies and their implications in the legal understanding of the core legal topics.

In addition, the course will focus on the current trends of the harmonization process in order to give a common response to technology challenges providing a general overview of the problems arising from the interaction between technology and the law. The general legal analysis of contracts, torts and property will be applied to the challenges posed by smart and relational contracts, the interaction between big data and competition law, the internet of things and the application of products liability and insurance to fully automated devices. Sharing and collaborative economy formulas will also be analyzed in the course.

Keywords: ¡Technology, Economic Analysis, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence

Fields: Law, Economics, Computer Sciences, Business

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LGTB+: Exploring Identities and Diversity (code: 51802)

This course will navigate the complex and mutating field of gay, lesbian, bisex, trans, intersex and queer studies, exploring its history and developement  since its inception. The course explores non-hegemonic identities and gender and sexual diversity from many different perspectives: their criminalization, pathologization or their fights for equality and rights. Social, legal, historical, and cultural implications of sexuality, articulating academic and activist perspectives will provide a framework and a context.

Furthermore, to highlight the importance of understanding these topics as non-homogeneous and in an intersectional way students's contributions will be asked for in order to build up an intercultural dialogue based on their own perspectives and geographies. The course aims to establish a dialogue between different positions within society and cultural production (such as cinema, literature, poetry, theatre, etc.) so as to reflect on the implications of visibility for the community and for the different representations of such dissident sexualities and identities.

The assumption of stability of biological sex and the meaning and goals of gender expression will be subject to inquiry. Theoretical lectures, seminars and debates, critical workshops and field trips will be used to address  in a critical manner the importance of (re)thinking our sexualities in a political and non-monolithic way.

Keywords: LGBT Studies, Gender Studies, Sexuality, Diversity, Identity, Queer

Fields: Philosophy, Sociology, Humanities, Communication, Cultural Studies

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Stardom Wars: Controversies on Creativity and Authorship in Spanish Cinema (code: 51803)

The birth of cinema transformed the way we understand artistic creation. Film is a mechanically reproduced artwork without the aura of uniqueness that characterizes classical pieces (Benjamin, 1935). It emerges as a mechanical extension of the human body, an “artificial eye”. Film production is also automated: it is a paradigm of “creative industry” (Howkins, 2001). In many ways, cinema appears at the intersection of the joint creative effort of human talent, industry, science & technology. This course will study various aspects of creativity and authorship in examples from Spanish cinematography. Early theoretical and practical approaches to filmic creation, the development of new artistic professions and creative labor organization in the film industry will be studied through Spanish silent cinema and the growth of CIFESA studios (1932-1961).

There will be an introduction to the debates over the status of film’s leading creators, looking at producers, directors, and writers from this period. The political dimension will be presented through the creative ways in which filmmakers eluded Franco’s censorship. Since the 1960s and the rise of modern cinema, the highly influential French auteur theory favors the director as a film’s main creator. The course will introduce Spanish auteurs from the modern period (Camus, Picazo) and present critiques of the director’s importance, implicit in works of postmodern filmmakers (Almodóvar, Medem). The challenges faced by contemporary auteurs (Lacuesta, Sorogoyen) at the side of recent ideas sharply opposed to the auteur theory that consider films as a result of collective creation (Sellors, 2007) or the audience as a creative force (Mayne, 2002). The work of Spanish experimental filmmaking platforms like “Authorless Cinema Collective”, as well as the creative design of contemporary Spanish cinematography’s cultural policies and initiatives that foster female creativity will be considered. This course will also have a creative component: students will make short films as group projects.

Keywords: Authorship, Community, Industry, Film theory, Aesthetics, Cultural politics

Fields: Media, Art, Communication, Humanities, Sociology, Cultural Studies, Hispanic Studies

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The Collectivity Revolution (code: 51804) (TBC)

Says author Yuval Harari, that the capacity to organize ourselves collectively through a “fiction” or an intagible or abstract concept agreement –such as money- is the singled-out most distinctive characteristic of humans beings vs other species. In the managerial sphere of brands, corporations and organizations of all sorts, the question today, is: Should money still be considered the most valuable asset? Will it disappear? What will it be replaced with? What is value and which are the values ruling our current-future society? Shifting paradigms are proposing new ideas and tools to face the now inevitable purpose of maintaining our own sustainability: both as organizations and as humans. In so, how do rising collective responses differ from the individualistic approaches of the last Century? In the challenge but also the opportunity of our times, what kind of world do we want to live in and how are we going to get there? Argumenting the principle that brands operate in societies, not just markets, students of this course will be encouraged to have critical views and to openly participate in the ethics discussions behind examples show-casing how collective entities of all sorts are currently coping/adapting to new context reality and how the innovation challenges of a Post “non-entirely” human era, as well as those derived from our consciousness over the natural limits of our planetary resources, are transforming our way of life, our values scale of expectations and thus our companies and enterprises managerial practices.

The course in all will underpin examples of COLLECTIVENESS in the context of a ultra-highly CONNECTED society that can no longer solve the global challenges of the future, following individual strengths or singled-out efforts; following examples the innovation and knowledge transfer capabilities and responsibilities of in specific sectors/issues such as food and nutrition, architecture and living design, health and genomic sciences, fashion and responsible consumerism and production or travel&tourism and urban and global mobility, among others. The Collectivity Revolution is an account of the new paradigms of management and commerce across businesses and its communities, as a whole. The title of the course responds to a play-on-words between the terms Collective and Connection and the Revolutionary outcomes of its merging forces.

Keywords: Collective Action, Management, Corporation, Cooperation, Brand Equity, Innovation, Technology, Sustainability, Capitalism, Ethics, Humanism

Fields: Business, Sociology, Communication, Marketing, Media Studies, Economy, Global Studies

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The Jews in Spain: History, Heritage and Memory (code: 51805)

The course proposes an itinerary through he rich cultural heritage of Hispanic Jews to present day along with interpretative elements to understand the recovery of that heritage and to manage it by analyzing the history of the Jewish people in the Hispanic lands and the interrelations, connections and influences between the Hispanic societies and Judaism, from the Middle Ages to present day. This is a course of history with a distinct interdisciplinary approach. A general contextual overview and an itinerary through the history of the Jews in Spain frame the discussions to follow.

The aim is to delve around a series of selected themes to better understand the boundaries between Spanish Jews and Spanish gentiles from multiple perspectives and across time. Based on the in-class commentary and analysis of primary sources, film debates and case studies, specific topics will be examined:  the perception of the self and the perception of the other; the shaping of a Jewish identity in the Hispanic lands versus the creation of the “Sephardic” cultural construct; the representations of Jews and Judaism; the role played by archetypes in the views on Judaism and Spanish anti-Semitism; and in Modern and contemporary times, the reconfiguration of Jewish identity from Modern Crypto-Judaism to the rising phenomenon of the Sephardic Benei Anusim.

Keywords: History, Jewish Heritage, Sephardic Culture, Memory, Heritage, Identity.

Fields: Jewish Studies, History, Cultural Studies, Hispanic Studies, Pre-Modern Studies, Contemporary Studies.

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¿Qué es noticia? verdad, desinformación y hegemonía (code: 51806)

Vivimos una época de creciente preocupación por la desinformación en la que es necesaria una mirada desde la ética a toda actividad relacionada con la información y la comunicación. Preocupa principalmente la actividad de los medios de comunicación y en especial del periodismo, pero debemos atender a todos aquellos ámbitos desde los que se genera información: administraciones públicas, política, economia, empresa, derecho, medicina, ciencia... La falta de verdad es un problema fundamental para una sociedad que se quiera democrática. En este curso pretendemos abordar esta preocupación partiendo de una pregunta que busca problematizar la producción de la comunicación: “¿Qué es noticia?”. Nos preocupan las ‘fake news’ o la ‘posverdad’, que podemos detectar en medios de comunicación, mensajes políticos, económicos.

Pero para entrar a analizar de qué hablamos cuando hablamos de noticias falsas o de manipulación informativa, es necesario preguntarnos también qué es verdad, y abordaremos algunos debates éticos al respecto. Las nociones de verdad y objetividad son esenciales en toda sociedad, existen formas muy diversas de desinformación. En este curso trabajaremos de manera interdisciplinar; recurriremos, por ejemplo, al conocimiento que nos ofrecen diferentes disciplinas: la ética, la ciencia política, la antropología, el periodismo, la sociología de los medios de comunicación, la economía... Las noticias y los mensajes comunicativos que nos llegan son siempre una construcción y necesitamos entender cómo se construyen. La comunicación cumple una función clave a la hora de establecer realidades compartidas, que nos permiten vivir como comunidad. Nuestra sociedad no puede existir sin comunicación. Por eso mismo, es fundamental reflexionar sobre los discursos que se generan.

Keywords: Ética, Análisis del discurso, Justicia, Democracia, Verdad, Comunidad, Sociedad (Ethics, Discourse Analysis, Justice, Democracy, Truth, Community, Society)

Fields: Comunicación, Ciencia Política, Humanidades, Economía, Periodismo, Antropología (Communication, Political Science, Humanities, Economy, Journalism, Anthropology)

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