Art and Gender in Contemporary Spain (Code for the Fall: 51816)

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: Museum, Aesthetics, Popular Culture, Performance, Music, Comics
Fields: History, Cultural Studies, Art, Photography, Sociology, Hispanic Studies, Communication, Gender Studies, Global Studies

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Barcelona the City and its History (Code for the Fall: 51886)

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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Cinematic Creativity in Spain: Authorship, Industry, Politics (Code: 51809)

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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Collective Intelligence, Global Challenges and Planetary Wellbeing (Code: 51873)

We live in a new era characterized by globalization and the digital revolution, and by the emergence of new planetary challenges and threats that require global, collective and effective solutions. These planetary challenges and threats include climate emergency, global health, nuclear security, global inequality, migratory movements, tax evasion, global terrorism, digital security and privacy, etc. All these challenges are global, complex, and interrelated. They need a response that is also global, intelligent and effective. An adequate management of them requires a holistic approach such as the United Nations’s framework of Sustainable Development Goals and UPF’s proposal for “planetary wellbeing”. This course will study how global institutions, as well as nation states, cities and others actors, can face global challenges like those mentioned above. Their responses will need to be creative and intelligent. This is why this course will focus on the new ways in which collective intelligence, crowdsourcing methods and public involvement in decision making in general can enhance the quality of global responses to these challenges. Students will be exposed to some successful practical examples of collective intelligence enhanced through new technologies, like the idea of Crowdlaw, which might combine data analysis, machine learning, AI, Blockchain and even virtual reality with the aim of improving public decision making.
 
The course will also focus on the conditions under which international organizations, states and cities can make or contribute to make international legal decisions that might provide solutions to these problems in a way that preserves democratic legitimacy and justice. For that purpose, this course will combine the study of global governance, and new technologies with political philosophy, legal philosophy, international law and international relations. 
After being exposed to all these existing solutions, students will be asked to be creative and work collectively to learn from each other and to find the best solutions to the problems they choose to work in. Each student will have to work on a particular problem, but he/she will share with the rest of the class his/her work and proposed solutions and all students will help each other to refine their final proposals

Keywords: Governance, Democracy, Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Collective Action, Society, Welfare, Public Good

Fields: Law, Political Science, Philosophy, Humanities, Sociology, International Relations, Contemporary Studies, Global Studies

 

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El animal de los filósofos y el límite de lo humano (Code: 51855)

Este curso se propone revisar críticamente una de las cuestiones más debatidas en el marco de la filosofía contemporánea, a saber: el problema de la diferencia ontológica entre humano y animal. El enfoque metodológico combina la perspectiva histórica con el análisis crítico de algunas de las principales propuestas filosóficas contemporáneas sobre el tema. Sobre la base de este enfoque pretendemos deconstruir la clásica perspectiva antropocéntrico-humanista acerca de la animalidad, para, de este modo, intentar comprender sobre nuevas bases la proximidad ontológica del humano con el animal. La actitud dominante de la tradición filosófica occidental con respecto a la animalidad ha sido la de reproducir sintomáticamente un esquema teórico antropocéntrico-humanista según el cual para pensar lo propio del humano hay que compararlo con el animal, atribuyéndole a uno lo que se le quita al otro (instinto versus lenguaje, corporeidad versus espiritualidad, necesidad natural versus libertad histórico-cultural, medioambiente versus mundo). Para deconstruir este planteamiento metafísico y repensar de modo inédito la animalidad, la primera parte del curso propone una reconstrucción histórica de la cuestión de la animalidad tal y como ha sido tratada paradigmáticamente por Aristóteles, Descartes, Rousseau y Hegel. La segunda parte del curso se centra en la controversia filosófica acerca de la “naturaleza humana”, surgida en la primera mitad del siglo XX en el ámbito del existencialismo (Heidegger) y de la antropología filosófica (Gehlen), para a continuación tomar en consideración propuestas filosóficas postmetafísicas (Merleau-Ponty, Derrida) según las cuales la alteridad animal representa el elemento impensado de la vida humana. El curso se cierra con unas consideraciones críticas relativas al debate actual sobre posthumanismo y transhumanismo (Calarco, Cimatti, Ferrando, Bostrom).

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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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Global Culture and Marketing of FC Barcelona (Code for the Fall term: 51820)

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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Globalization, Human Development and Sustainability: Politics and Policies in the Framework of the 2030 Agenda (Code: 51811)

How globalization redefines wealth and opportunities around the world? Is globalization a force for good or does it create opportunities only for a small minority?  Inequalities have increased and cooperation has proved not to be very effective. Indeed, after having spent in the last five decades more than 2,3 trillion dollars, the path towards sustainable human development seems to be still full of obstacles and constraints. The course aims at introducing students to the most salient aspects of the debate around globalization, development and international cooperation. Classical views on development will be contrasted with more contemporary approaches such as: the Agenda 2030 framework, no-one living behind principle, whole-of-society-approach, multilevel governance and multi-stakeholder participation. The course combines analytical tools and categories stemming from political science, international relations, economic geography, European Integration studies, public policies and development economics. By applying interactive and participatory teaching methodologies, the course will stimulate student’s active involvement and participation all across the sessions.

Keywords: Governance, Sustainability, Justice, Cooperation, Welfare, Public Good, Society, Public Policies

Fields: Political Science, International Relations, Economy, Geography, Urban Studies, Contemporary Studies, Global Studies

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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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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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Laws of Creativity. The Impact of Legal Systems on Artistic Practices and Other Creative Endeavors (Code: 51856)

How does the law affect creativity? Is the law actually hindering creativity or is instead encouraging it? Are such impacts just quantitative or also qualitative? Answering these questions requires examining various branches of the law. Intellectual property is for many the best mechanism that legal systems have to foster creativity and innovation. However, intellectual property also limits many creative processes, especially those that build upon previous works and cultural traditions. Finding the optimal trade-off between those two forces is one of IP’s main goals. Regulations on freedom of expression, censorship, contract law, zoning, and cultural sponsoring, among others, and their enforcement by public authorities can also impact artists’ creative choices in many ways. This course aims at providing an in-depth discussion on the ways law regulates creativity and affects the content of works. One of the main goals of the course is to examine whether legal systems are neutral to different forms of creativity or if they discriminate among forms (for instance, if stand-alone creativity is preferred to sequential creativity, if high culture is treated differently than low culture, or if a male-stereotyped creativity is supported). The course focuses mostly on intellectual property law and freedom of expression. Other areas of law such as contract law, zoning law, and tax law will be also presented. Students will be provided with a theoretical overview of those areas to understand their rules and doctrines and how they affect creativity. The course will also offer the discussion of several case studies, including, among others, tattoos, memes, graffiti art, music sampling or content creativity in social media and other online platforms.

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Lengua y cultura catalanas (Code: 51857)

Este curso está indicado para todos aquellos alumnos que quieran conocer un poco la lengua y la cultura de la ciudad en la que vienen a hacer sus estudios desde un enfoque contrastivo con el español y otras lenguas románicas. Este conocimiento les permitirá sin duda situar mejor la lengua y cultura catalana en relación a la española y la europea en general. En este curso se introducirá a los alumnos en la lengua y cultura catalanas, a través del componente comunicativo, con el objetivo de facilitar el aprendizaje del catalán en un nivel inicial hasta conseguir una competencia mínima que pueda permitir una comunicación básica y la adquisición de las bases para poder seguir avanzando en el aprendizaje del catalán si así se desea. Además se hará un repaso de la cultura catalana a través de las fiestas tradicionales de Cataluña y se presentarán las peculiaridades de la sociedad catalana en relación a cada uno de los temas tratados.

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The Arab World Today: Tradition and Diversity (Code: 51834)

The course is an approach to the reality of the Arab world, often distorted by topics and prejudices. The approach is carried out in three directions: politics, new social actors and the Arab world relationship with the western world. Special emphasis is placed on the role played by young people, on the situation of women and on the permanent tension between tradition and modernity, the first challenge for the Arab community because it will be decisive in the immediate future, characterized by the development of new technologies and the global economy. Finally, the objective is to establish what image the Arab world projects towards the outside and what perception one has the Arab world in the West. Faced with the belief that the Arab world is a monolithic and homogeneous space, the reality of a highly diversified cultural area prevails in which, at the same time, three constants weigh heavily: language, religion and political blockade. In other words, the tension between tradition and modernity is a reality in a very plural social settings. Such variety of social realities is barely perceived by the western world in general and Europe in particular. Something that is still quite a contradictory element with history, with the legacy of Arab culture in Spain and Portugal -in language, architecture, agriculture, folklore, etc.- and with a permanent economic relationship with the European countries, especially since the colonial period until today.

Keywords: Arab Policy, Society, Culture, Tradition, Modernity

Fields: Political Science, History, Economy, Sociology, Cultural Studies, International Relations, Gender Studies, Religion, Contemporary Studies, Global Studies

 

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The Global Governance of the Internet and of Future Emerging Technologies (Code: 51868)

The course is aimed at analysing how the Internet and Future Emerging Technologies are governed at a global level. In a continuously evolving context, the course is an invitation to reflect about different initiatives at the international level aimed at addressing some of the key challenges traditionally associated to these technologies (including issues of privacy and data protection, limitations on freedom of expression and content moderation online, as well as the social and environmental impact of digital technologies). In this sense, the course will focus on understanding the role that non-State actors (such as international governmental and non-governmental organisations, non-state public organisations, private companies, and the broader global civil society) play in these initiatives as well as the models of governance that each of these players support and promote when it comes to the governance of the Internet and of Future Emerging Technologies.

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The Jews in Spain: History, Heritage and Memory (Code for the Fall term: 51805)

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

The aim is to delve around a series of selected themes to better understand the boundaries of the relationship 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 archetypes about the Jews and their relations to Spanish anti-Semitism or the reconfiguration of Jewish identity, from Crypto-Judaism to the rising phenomenon of the Sephardic Benei Anusim. Recent projects and initiatives for the recovery of Jewish Heritage in Spain will also be studied and assessed.

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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