Art and Gender in Contemporary Spain (Code for the Winter term: 51872)

This course provides a dynamic, multi-disciplinary introduction to Contemporary Art in Spain. A background on this specified field is not required. For this reason not only the main artistic events will be covered, but also some political, historical and cultural issues that might be relevant. Although this course is manly based on lectures and class debate, four visits to art centers and exhibitions will be also part of the course requirements. These visits will be made during class time and are equivalent to a usual in-class lecture. We will discuss recent classics as well as emerging artists, and we will cover 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 clues to understand the historical context and particular conditions in Spain, it is also intended as a more general insight into contemporary artistic strategies and topics.

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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Artificial Intelligence, Creativity, and the Arts (Code: 51819)

Are you interested in the arts and how technology can contribute to them? Have you ever wondered what will be the impact of artificial intelligence in the arts? Have you ever wanted to build a new musical instrument that responded to your movements? Or create live visuals to accompany a dancer? Or create an interactive art installation that reacts to the actions of an audience? If you replied yes to any of these questions then this course is for you. In this course we will discuss the impact of technology, and in particular of artificial intelligence (AI), in the arts. Students will learn the fundamentals of AI and understand the implication of these techniques in the arts. Students will learn AI techniques that can be used to make sense of human gesture (movement), sound and musical audio, human physiological information (e.g. heart rate), and other real-time data. The focus will be on learning about algorithms, software tools, and best practices that can be immediately employed in creating new real-time interactive systems in the arts. The course is practical in nature allowing students to get hands-on experience with off-the-shelf tools for artificial intelligence in the context of music, dance, gaming, and visual art, especially for human motion analysis and audio analysis. Students of this course will 1) understand what artificial intelligence is, its potential and limitations, and its areas of application, especially in the arts, 2) get familiar with modern artificial intelligence algorithms, 3) get hands-on experience with AI techniques that are well-suited for music, dance, visual art, and interactive systems, and 4) apply AI to creative processes.

Keywords: Technology, Gesture, Algorithm, Dance, Music

Fields: Art, Psychology, Computer Science

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Barcelona the City and its History (Code for the Winter: 51887)-Group 1

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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Barcelona the City and its History (Code for the Winter: 51887)-Group 2

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 for the Winter: 51838)

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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Circular Economy (Code: 51813)

This course tackles issues pertinent for sustainable development through the prism of private business, along  with the challenges that current business poses for such development.under social norms. Starting with the international framework for sustainable development, the course explores the diverse channels in economic transactions and their necessary transformation in the order of relevance as to the impact they have for sustainable development. The analyisis is divided into three large subcategories: (1) sustainable public purchases, (2) sustainable corporate conduct under renewed corporate law rules and (3) last but not least, sustainable consumption and supporting environmental legislation at the international level. The course focuses on the newest developments in the EU law for each of the subgroups so defined. In order to offer to the students some hands-on experience on corporate practice under such new legal framework, we apply the legal knowledge obtained to the enterprises’ practical market functioning through an approach from Economics and the Law. A Problem Based Learning approach will be employed, enabling students to internalize the notions presented throughout the course.

Keywords: Sustainability, Corporations, Capitalism, Society, Welfare, Public Good, Collective Action

Fields: Law, Economy, Business, Political Science, Sociology, European Studies, Contemporary Studies

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Comunicación y responsabilidad social en la era de la desinformación y las fake news (Code: 51862)

Este curso representa una oportunidad para estudiantes que no siguen las carreras de periodismo o comunicación para conocer el ecosistema comunicativo en el que vivimos, la importancia del periodismo como simbólico "cuarto poder" (que vela por un correcto funcionamiento democrático) y las nuevas formas de periodismo surgidas con la consolidación de las redes sociales. También ahonda en los conceptos de responsabilidad, rigor y rendición de cuentas de los medios de comunicación para desarrollar un buen periodismo, ético y de calidad en un momento de auge de la desinformación y las ‘fake news’. El curso pretende dar una perspectiva comparada del panorama comunicativo y las culturas periodísticas en la sociedad española, europea y norteamericana desde un punto de vista histórico y sociológic que se combina con los ejercicios de la práctica profesional periodística en España. La primera parte de la asignatura se compone de contenidos teóricos que profundizan en esta relación entre periodismo y poder en las distintas culturas periodísticas; mientras que en la segunda parte se desarrollan contenidos prácticos: redacción de noticias en distintos formatos y elaboración de un reportaje de radio desde la perspectiva del periodismo en España.

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Emergencia climática, ecologismo y transición ecosocial (Code: 51869)

En este curso se ofrecerán informaciones y análisis sobre el proceso histórico de toma de conciencia ecologista (el surgimiento de las asociaciones conservacionistas y los grupos ecologistas, la publicación de informes internacionales sobre los límites del crecimiento y de libros sobre ecología y ecologismo), las conferencias internacionales sobre el medio ambiente, la creación y el desarrollo de los partidos verdes (contenidos programáticos, fuerza electoral y experiencias gubernamentales), las ideas y las propuestas del ecosocialismo y del ecofeminismo, las contradicciones y las propuestas de integración entre sindicalismo de clase y ecologismo, las causas y las consecuencias de la crisis ecológica global y la emergencia climática, las respuestas institucionales al cambio climático (conferencias internacionales, informes del Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Unión Europea y España), las respuestas empresariales al cambio climático, el movimiento ecologista actual en Europa y en España, y las propuestas de transición energética y “Green New Deal”.Se aportarán argumentos para responder a las siguientes preguntas: ¿Es posible un capitalismo verde? ¿Es necesario y viable un socialismo ecológico? Para el análisis de todas estas cuestiones, se combinarán las perspectivas que ofrecen diferentes disciplinas académicas, destacadamente la ecología, la ciencia política, las relaciones internacionales, la economía, la historia, la filosofía política y el periodismo de investigación.

Keywords: Sustainability, Ecology, Capitalism, Society, Collective Action, Green New Deal, Governance, Contemporary Studies

Fields: Political Science, Economy, History, Philosophy, Media Studies, International Relations, Global Studies

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Five Challenges for the Future of Sport Global Governance (Code: 51831)

The increasing popularity of sport has genuinely transformed sport governance. No doubt this situation has had a positive impact in the ethics and integrity of spot governance. But the COVID-19 pandemic has suddenly change the world of sport. The economic importance of sport and its cross-border nature puts sport institutions in a situation in which they must face an uncertain future. This course is aimed at analyzing five key challenges for the future of sport global governance, namely: I) COVID economic impact and tis implications in the legal autonomy of sport, ii) the concept of equality in sport regarding neutral gender, intersex and cyborg athletes, iii) the democratization of sport bodies and strengthening athletes’ voice inside job, iv) the impact of AI and other new technologies and, v) the sustainability of mega sport events. 

All of these challenges are interconnected. Sport Government Bodies (SGB) as ICO, FIFA, IAAF, and so on, enjoy a large economic and legal autonomy to manage their business, which is in many cases against the rights of athletes. But have SGB political and legal legitimacy to rule and ask for compliance? It seems that  a new legal system of sport laws is emerging from these SGB  and the Court of Arbitration of Sport. Is this jurisprudence limiting the rights of the athletes? Is it compulsory for national and supranational legal systems? 
On the other hand, the increasing market expanding of Sport make it a great field for experimentation with new technologies, drugs and specially to apply Artificial Intelligence to increase the performance of the athletes. This situation has several ethical implications that need to be carefully analyzed. Finally the sustainability of sport mega events is a crucial point at this time of climatic emergency that challenges the continuity of sport mega-events in the future.

Keywords: Governance, Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, Sustainability, Human Rights

Fields: Law, Economy, Political Science, Journalism, Contemporary Studies

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From Ethnographic Cinema to the Avant-garde (Code: 51865)

Study and critical analysis of ethnographic cinema and its relationship with avant-garde cinema, demonstrating itself as a fertile territory and full of possibilities, but that continues on the margins, between art halls and museums and ignored by industry. Both ends touch each other. In the margins of usual production, creativity, dedication and social and cultural commitment survive. Both extremes are modes of representation of our culture and have many elements in common: their marginality, their creativity, a community of practitioners and followers, their influence on the cinematographic narrative of the real and fiction, and their questioning, in some cases, of the classic narrative.

The goal of this seminar is to provide the student with a basic, but professional, level of knowledge of Ethnographic and the, so called, experimental or formalist filmmaking. The seminar includes a practical exercise where the student can discover his particular way of seeing Catalan or Spanish reality. The seminar consists in theoretical lessons. During eleven weeks (two days per week; each class meeting for two hours) students and the tutor Ricardo Iscar will meet and discuss the history and situation of the contemporary ethnographic and Avant Garde filmmaking. 

It is highly recommended that each student bring a hard drive or a pen drive for the practical exercises (minimum 500 GB).

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From Punchline to the Laugh Track: Television Sitcom Writing and Directing Workshop (51859)

This workshop will provide students with a possibility to acquire practical knowledge in creation of television fiction, in particular sitcoms. A course will begin with concise theoretical introduction, tackling notions of the way television articulate its contents, the importance of humor in our societies, psychology of humor, genres of TV fiction, narrative structures and formulas of different sitcom sub-types. The course will later develop through two stages: writing and directing of a brief sitcom scene. Students will form small teams, the aim of each group will be to come up with one complete sitcom scene at the end of the workshop. The writing segment of the workshop will take place in a classroom: under a supervision of a professor each student team should develop scripts for their sitcom scene. During this process students will gain basic insights to screenwriting for television, character and plot development and comedy writing.  The directing section will take place in TV studio. Students will work with multi-camera system and shoot their written exercises. Under a supervision of a professor they will learn how to operate in a TV studio, manage cameras and other equipment, and direct actors. This workshop will foster creative expression, collective creativity, communication and collaboration on the common project, as well as critical thinking about television programs and the structure of TV industry. Through the workshop students will also learn about/acquire practical knowledge of creative work division in television production systems. 

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Gender, Sexuality and Diversity: Past and Present (Code: 51832)

This course offers an introduction to critical questions related to gender, sexuality, the body, and diversity in an increasingly globalized world. The course will provide students with theoretical and methodological tools derived from Gender and Feminist Studies so that they become able to analyze a variety of topics from a critical and “engendered” point of view. The topics examined will be diverse, and will include, among others, primate behavior interpretation, the origins of gender inequality, patriarchal violence, beauty canons, assisted reproduction, prostitution, transsexuality, intersexuality, contemporary sexualities, or new family models. 

With the objective that students develop a critical point of view in their own creative way, during the course the teaching staff will present the similarities and differences that exist between the main feminist movements in force today, as well as the perspectives from which these movements address the aforementioned themes. 
Two fundamental aspects will be transversal to the discussion of all the previous topics :1) the un-critical projection of the logics of the present into the past in order to justify/naturalize both current stereotypes and current issues related to gender, sexuality, the body, and diversity; and, 2) the incorporation of the analysis of historical trajectories and perspectives to understand how gender has shaped present societies and cultures throughout the world. This is neither a history nor an archeology course, but rather a transdisciplinary subject that aims to combine different areas of study to better understand the current stances of different collectives in relation to the aforementioned topics.

Keywords: Sexuality, Feminism, Minorities, Identity, LGTB

Fields: Humanities, History, Archaeology, Political Science, Biology, Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, Material Culture, Pre-Modern Studies

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Global Culture and Marketing of FC Barcelona (Code for the Winter term: 51826)-Group 1

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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Global Culture and Marketing of FC Barcelona (Code for the Winter term: 51826)-Group 2

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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Globalized World, Globalized Problems? Creative Proposals From Public Service Television Worldwide (Code: 51818)

We are living in a globalized world. Internet, social networks, global tourism, massive migrations, cosmopolitanism, global markets, global brands, global services... Globalization has become such a taken-for-granted assumption, that our mediated societies easily talk about global challenges: participative democracies, racism, women’s rights, children’s protection, climate change, carbon footprint, environmental protection, plastic pollution, animal protection, alternative energies, responsible consumerism, recycling, upcycling... 

As if all these different topics were all meaning the same around the world. Is this not an oversimplified assumption?. A closer look to the different specific situations and debates around these topics easily show the diversity and nuances that have to be made to refer to them. Are the debates around “women’s rights” for instance, similar in contexts like India, Canada, South Korea or Mauritania? Reality is stubborn and offers resistance to globalizing homogeneities and homogenized perspectives. Public Service television channels worldwide are still devoted to informing, to educating and to entertaining their viewers, they perform an instrumental role in raising awareness around many of these topics. Every public service television channel must resist the temptation to blindly incorporate these homogenized “problems” and both, adopt and adapt them to its viewer’s traditions, historical backgrounds, legal constraints or economic and financial restrictions. Their goal: to offer a suitable, engaging and ethical approach to the topic for its audience. Creativity has become the major force for these television channels. Experimenting with the formats, with the boundaries between genres, with different combination of contents and forms, with different visual languages, visual and sound metaphors and at the same time, challenging their audiences to think differently, to enlarge their mental horizons and finally, to contribute to public debate. The floor is open for discussion.

Keywords: Television, Welfare, Public Good, Society, Innovation, Migration, Genre
Fields: Media Studies, Cultural Studies, Sociology, Global Studies, International Relations, Contemporary Studies

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Great Ideas that Have Shaped our World: From the Axial Age to the Artificial Intelligence Revolution (Code: 51906)

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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Historia y memoria en la ficción: cinematografía y literatura (Code: 51866)

Las percepciones culturales del pasado, la interpretación del presente y las proyecciones hacia el futuro son claves para comprender el devenir de una sociedad. ¿Qué relación se establece entre historia, literatura y cine? ¿Qué papel han tenido literatura y cinematografía para forjar una memoria histórica colectiva? ¿Cuál es la relación entre historia y ficción? ¿En qué medida podemos considerar la literatura una fuente histórica?.Proponemos relacionar estas dos formas de expresión y narración para analizarlos según diversas perspectivas:
1) Memoria histórica: el relato y su relación con los eventos históricos. Una reflexión crítica no puede obviar que además de los problemas epistemológicos analizados, también se entremezclan factores éticos y sesgos políticos ampliamente conocidos: ¿cómo afecta el presente en el modo de reconstrucción del pasado, qué funciones desempeña esta visión del pasado o de la propia historia? La creación del pasado como objeto de estudio es un reto absolutamente relevante: la construcción de la nación, de una etnia, de un grupo religioso, debates sobre genocidios, conflictos del pasado y memoria son ejemplos de este reto.
2) Discursos y lecturas según el tiempo y contexto en que dichas obras hayan sido producidos: ¿la obra refleja el momento histórico o la propia sociedad que la produjo con sus prioridades e inquietudes? ¿Se está haciendo un uso político de la historia a través del cine o literatura? ¿Literatura y construcción del ciudadano? 
3) Temas concretos (cronocentrismo, memoria y poder; género; migraciones, violaciones de derechos humanos) y cómo se han visto reflejados en cine y literatura a través del tiempo. Se privilegiará el debate e intercambio de opiniones.

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Laws of Creativity. The Impact of Legal Systems on Artistic Practices and Other Creative Endeavors (Code: 51905)

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 me

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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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LGTB+: Exploring Identities and Diversity (Code for the Winter term: 51828)-Group 1

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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LGTB+: Exploring Identities and Diversity (Code for the Winter term: 51828)-Group 2

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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Mind, Brains and Machines (Code: 51812)

This course centers on the interaction between Neurosciences, Engineering and the Humanities, by posing crucial questions on intelligence, perception and aesthetics. How brains and machines build up knowledge? What is intelligence and “what do we talk about when we talk about artificial intelligence”? We will analyze how sensory systems build up a representation of the world, with particular attention to vision and audition. In parallel,  we will explore the minimal requirements of a brain, building on our age-old attempts to build artificial intelligent systems. We will review the history of artificial intelligence and brain science, focusing on the connections that the two fields have had, on and off, over the years. This leads to a more general discussion on the foundations and limits of knowledge and the evolutionary roots of belief. Can we gather reliable knowledge? Are we prone to believe? What is the relationship between genes and environment?  Beyond that, how does biology conditions our experience of Art? And further, can computers mimic creativity in Art?  The course attempts to frame the above questions into the current scientific knowledge of the brain and the engineering of complex systems.

Keywords: Epistemology, Nature/Nurture, Health, Music, Natural Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence, Complexity Systems, Information Processing, Health, Technology

Fields: Anthropology, Psychology, Biology, Philosophy, Art, Medicine, Cognitive Sciences, Physics, Neurosciences

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¿Qué es noticia? verdad, desinformación y hegemonía (Code: 51830)

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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Society and Politics in Contemporary Spain (Code: 51613)

In this course Political Science, Sociology and Economy are mixed in order to study and analyze changes in Spain since 1978 by comparing them with other countries (United States, EU). This course analyzes the Spanish political system’s main characteristics and its connection with the current Spanish society. Debates will be also included in the course (i/e: the political system facets as institutions, the State structure, political parties, trade unions and elections in Spain).  Political culture, participation and electoral behavior will be also analyzed as they are a key to understand its connection with political power and the new Spanish democracy.

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Sovereignty, Democracy and Constitutionalism in Europe (Code: 51864)

The course focuses on the creation and evolution of modern constitutional polities in Iberia and Europe, including states (e.g. Spain), unions of states (e.g. the European Union) and sub-state units (e.g. Catalonia). More than an empirical explanation of different cases, the main aim is to analyse basic concepts and ideas that helped to develop current liberal democracies. The complexity and fragility of the equilibrium between these concepts and ideas may offer some clues on how to deal with the multiple criticisms and threats that European liberal-democracy is facing. Each session will predominantly address and discuss a specific concept or idea (or close group of them) including sovereignty, territorial autonomy, federalism, democracy, parliamentarism, constitutionalism, constituent power, separation of powers, rule of law, fundamental rights, European integration, secession and withdrawal. Obviously, these concepts and ideas have strong links among each other and so will the lectures of this course.
Since all these legal and political issues are important, broad, multifaceted, stimulating and controversial, students with distinct backgrounds and different academic interests may enjoy this course, which is not intended to take place behind university doors exclusively but also to include historical walks and institutional visits. As the course explores the origins and evolution of these crucial constitutional notions, the teaching team is composed by a legal historian (Dr Josep Capdeferro), a constitutional law scholar (Dr Hèctor López) and a public lawyer and political theorist (Dr Pau Bossacoma). This is a consolidated team whose members often collaborate with one another.

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Textos literarios: interpretar, dialogar, crear (Code: 51904)

El texto literario es un buen recurso para el desarrollo de las competencias interculturales, pues permite al alumno observar y confrontar el sistema de creencias de su propia comunidad con el de la lengua que está aprendiendo y reflexionar sobre los diferentes valores y actitudes de ambas culturas para actuar de forma adecuada en la lengua meta. En este sentido, el curso pretende acercar la literatura española contemporánea al estudiante, a partir de la lectura y el análisis de una selección de textos literarios de distinto género (narrativa, poesía y teatro), desarrollar sus habilidades interpretativas y de lectura, y adquirir técnicas y criterios para potenciar y estimular su capacidad creativa.

A partir del estudio de los textos seleccionados, se abordarán las cuestiones sociales, culturales e históricas que contribuyan a una mejor y más completa interpretación de los mismos, y se fomentará el pensamiento crítico y la autonomía ante las lecturas que se realicen. No se busca llegar a una interpretación definitiva de los textos analizados, sino utilizarlos como estímulo para que el estudiante transmita ideas, sentimientos y emociones, y como base para la reflexión, el razonamiento y la discusión en el aula.
Se pretende que el estudiante establezca un diálogo con la obra literaria de algunos autores representativos de la literatura española contemporánea e implicarlo emocionalmente con el fin de despertar su creatividad, entendida esta como una expresión personal de respuesta a los textos que se trabajen en clase.
 

Keywords: Textos, argumentación, sociedad, interculturalidad, identidad, género, canon literario, crítica literaria (Texts, Argumentation, Society, Interculturality, Identity, Genre, Canon, Literary Criticism)

Fields: Literatura, historia, estudios culturales, estudios contemporános, estudios hispánicos (Literature, History, Cultural Studies, Contemporary Studies, Hispanic Studies)

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The Collectivity Revolution: Building a Global Community (Code: 51839)

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 Global Governance of the Internet and of Future Emerging Technologies (Code: 51907)

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 Impact Journey: (Un)Sustainability, Climate Emergency, Authentic Leadership (Code: 51817)

The course is designed in 3 areas: Open mind, open heart, open will in order to allow the student to explore its personal journey towards sustainability.In terms of methodology, it can be mainly defined as a conversation based including some lecture with many hands-on training, experiential practices and workshop. Open mind (Explore) consist on rising awareness about the unprecedented challenges we facing today. Civil society, cities as well as businesses recognized the climate emergency and the state of the earth is putting at risk our current civilization. A new worldview is emerging and new generation are especially challenging the “business-as-usual”. 
At that point of the course, we have created a sense of common language and a common vision about global and systemic challenges. Open heart (Experience) is a real appreciative inquiry about its leadership style and definitely what make the course so “special” as it really pushes the participants out of his/her comfort zone. It’s an invitation to emotional learning through inner reflection and hands-on experience. At that point of the course, we create a sense of community learning. Open will (Expedition) is when we introduce and put in action the leadership style as well as the system thinking. Inspiration from young leaders, start-up, business-as-UNusual will invite participants to take small steps regarding their personal and professional choices. At that point of the course, we clarify the purpose of the Leadership journey and everyone revisit his/her career sweet spot.

Keywords: Corporation, Sustainability, Ecology, Entrepreneurship, Capitalism, Society, Public Good, Urban Studies

Fields: Business, Economy, Natural Sciences, Humanities, Education, Psychology, Political Science, Art, Media Studies, Contemporary Studies

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The Space Race: A Cultural History in the Cold War (Code: 51860)

Throughout the study of the public sphere, the pop-culture and the mass media, students will learn the complex dimension of the Space Race and of its centrality in the Cold War dynamics. We will study how the mass media shaped the public imagination in the USA and in USSR during the Space Race. The course will analyse how the mythologies of the ‘frontier’ both in the USA and in Soviet Union were extended to the interplanetary space. We will study how fears and desires were projected in the Space Race. We will see how each side conceived of the other both as an enemy and as a collaborator, how the Space Race was marketed in terms of competition and collaboration at the same time, becoming with the Apollo-Soyuz project the symbol of the déténte. Throughout the reading of magazines, newspapers, as well as the analysis of TV shows, novels and science fiction movies, we will see how the Space Race influenced the daily life in the USA and in USSR, as well as gender, sex and ethnic relations. We will focus on memoirs of astronauts, engineers, politicians and policymakers and of other actors to see how the main characters of the story perceived the history of the Space Race and were perceived in the public sphere. The study of the cultural industry will allow us to unveil certain features of the making of what Dwight Eisenhower defined the military- industrial complex. We will also have a quick view to nowadays and future perspectives of the space conquest.

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Understanding and Awakening your Creativity (Code 51863)

Throughout history, creativity has always been considered a mysterious and elusive phenomenon. The ancient Greeks believed that creativity arose from the divine inspiration and guidance of the muses. The Romans believed that each individual was born with a guardian entity, or genius, who would assist them in their lives and creative work. Come the Enlightenment, the popular explanation for creativity in the Western world shifted from divine sources to madness and chemically altered states. While much has changed in society, nowadays we still often see creativity as a mysterious and elusive special talent that’s only present in certain individuals. However, the historical connection between creativity and craft as well as growing research in the psychological and physiological characteristics of creativity tell us differently. In this course, we’ll seek to better understand creativity in order to awaken your own creative potential. We’ll start by briefly exploring humankind’s relationship to creativity throughout history, the myths and realities surrounding the creative process and creative individuals, and provide a basic understanding of what creativity is and how it works from a psychological and neuroscientific perspective. Throughout the entire course, we will draw upon a variety of interdisciplinary activities designed to allow you to readily access your creativity and help you to develop your own creative process.

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Understanding Globalization: Global Issues in Historical Perspective (Code: 51858)

This course provides a historical understanding of global issues related to the increasing connectedness of the world, by examining processes of interaction and exchange but also the sources and impact of the backlash against globalization from the first globalization up to the present. The course analyzes the history of globalization by offering a clear set of theoretical frameworks about concrete themes link to the interactions of Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe from the Columbian exchange or the Manila Galleon to the early twenty first century. All in all, the course offers a historical and a global perspective to the current discussions around globalization and reactions against globalization. Students will compare the evolution of different issues related to political institutions, economic activity, social transformations and intellectual life, from a historical, transdisciplinary and transnational perspective. By using concrete examples and case studies, students will analyze this set of global issues, from the perspectives of different regions of the world, to rethink the social, economic, political, technological or cultural ways of relation within and between societies. 
The course will address methodologically important issues, such as cultural encounter, international relations, environmental history and global economic history, as well as a trans-disciplinary engagement with the economics of institutions, cultural anthropology, historical geography and the politics of state formation.

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