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2020/2021

Philosophy of Culture

Code: 100028 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2502758 Humanities OT 3 0
2502758 Humanities OT 4 0
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Joan Carles Cirera Izquierdo
Email:
JoanCarles.Cirera@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Prerequisites

This course has no prerequisites. Since we this is a Humanities Degree, the subject has both a philosophical and historical approach. Also, as long as time constraints allow us to do so, it will be interdisciplinary.

Objectives and Contextualisation

Quite often, the term culture is undefined and includes both our own cultural manifestations and others that are less defined. These need to be explained through other areas of knowledge because of their own character. Without trying to be deeply thorough, we will attempt to redefine their presence from a historical and philosophical point of view. We will as well redefine the process by which the individual goes through in order to transform its pure biological condition into a specifically cultural matter.

The starting point will be to examine the reflections of some thinkers who have analyzed what is, what we call and under which conditions this manifestation occurs. We will also address the relationship we maintain with it so that we can establish this problem within its current limits.

The first bloc of this course will develop in the form of lectures by the professor.

The second bloc of the programme will be built by the students from the proposals explained below. These will be in the form of written tasks and oral presentations. In this second part, each proposal will be a keynote speech and will be assessed as such. All questions and details will be explained at the beginning of the academic year.

Competences

    Humanities
  • Critically analysing today's culture and its historical conditions.
  • Properly using the resources and methodologies of the study of contemporary culture.
  • Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Drawing up an academic text using the discipline's specific vocabulary.
  2. Engaging in debates about historical facts respecting the other participants' opinions.
  3. Identifying the characteristic methods of the history of philosophy and using them in the analysis of concrete facts.
  4. Indicating and discussing the main characteristics of the of a period and contextualizing them.
  5. Indicating and summarising the common content of several manifestations of various fields of culture.
  6. Indicating the main issues of the history of the field.
  7. Preparing a summary from a given text.
  8. Summarising acquired knowledge about the origin and transformations experienced in the several fields of anthropology.

Content

Content

  1. What do we call culture? Freud, Adorno and Bataille.
  2. Origin and end of culture. Prometheus, Faust and Don Giovanni

 

        3. A radical Illustration? Kant, Rousseau, Sade.

        4 Construction and critique of the main European culture of the XIX-XX centuries.

         ( Hegel, Marx and Nietzche)

       5. Power, true and performativity: from Foucault to Butler.

Methodology

Although in the classes the subjects are treated in a transversal way and a coherent learning of the interrelation between culture and philosophy is promoted, the activities are organized as sessions with their own structure, always looking for the dialogue with the students.

 

The training activities will be of three types:
										
											
										
											A. Directed.
										
											
										
											B. Supervised (They should be adapted, if necessary, in the most appropriate percentage, to virtual teaching, through the various existing systems (teams, narrated powerpoints, videos, podcasts ... etc)
										
											
										
											C. Autonomous


1   Lectures taught by the professor expect maximum class participation..In the event that there is a non-presential or semi-presential environment, the appropriate measures will be taken so that the student achieves all her learning results.

2   Oral presentations  will focus on providing maximum critical and constructive interaction with the subject as a whole.

 
 

 

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Master class 50 2 3, 6, 8
Type: Supervised      
Work of development of the subject 18 0.72 4, 1, 8
tutorials in the office (group) 4 0.16
tutorials in the office (personal) 4 0.16
Type: Autonomous      
Bibliographic and notes reading of the virtual campus 42 1.68 4, 5, 6, 8
Study and exam preparation 24 0.96 6

Assessment

Evaluation

The first bloc will be assessed as follows:

A. Two written assessments in class (4/10 points) 20% the first, of the final grade; 20% the second, of the final grade.

1. First assessment will be towards the first two themes.

2. Second assessment will be finished the following three.

 The voluntary review of the questions will begin on the first school day after the publication of the notes in the CV. By means of a parallel note, hours and days of service will be indicated.

 

The second bloc will be assessed based on the following criteria:

A. 4 points for the team work: 2 (writing) - 20% of the final grade- + 2 (oral presentation) - 20% of the final grade. It must be submitted by the penultimate week leeson. Oral defense last week of the course. If the oral defense cannot be carried out due to the absence of attendance, the written part will be exclusively valued (40% of the final grade) 

B. 2 (0.5x4) points - 20% of the final grade: questions proposed and developed in class or text comments and group discussions via forum. The voluntary review of the questions will begin on the first school day after the publication of the notes in the CV. By means of a parallel note, hours and days of service will be indicated.

 

To pass the subject, you must pass both blocs. Otherwise, you will have to do a retake assessment.

This retake assessment will consist of a general test on the whole course studied in class. To be able to take this exam, you must have previously been assessed in different activities which will be the equivalent of a minimum of 2/3 of the final grade. The minimum compulsory grade must be 3.5.

The written task will only be accepted if the tutoring sessions have previously taken place with the professor.

Any student who has not submitted at least 30% of assessment evidence (work submitted or written tasks) will be considered as “non-gradable”.

In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

In the event that tests or exams cannot be taken onsite, they will be adapted to an online format made available through the UAB’s virtual tools (original weighting will be maintained). Homework, activities and
class participation will be carried out through forums, wikis and/or discussion on Teams, etc. Lecturers will ensure that students are able to access these virtual tools, or will offer them feasible alternatives.

 

 

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Abstacts and text comments 15% 1 0.04 4, 7, 8
Exams (2 written tests) 40% 4 0.16 4, 5, 3, 8
Group discussions 5% 1 0.04 4, 1, 6, 8
Oral and written presentation of the course work. 40% 2 0.08 1, 2, 8

Bibliography

General bibliography of the subject.

-Adorno, T.W (2007) : Dialéctica de la Ilustración. Ediciones Akal, Madrid

-Adorno, T.W (2008) : Crítica de la cultura y sociedad I .Ediciones Akal. Madrid

-Adorno, T.W (2008) : Crítica de la cultura y sociedad II. Ediciones Akal. Madrid

-Anonim (2003): Historia del doctor Johann Fausto ( s. XVI). Siruela. Madrid.

-Arendt, Hannah. (2005) : La condición humana. Barcelona. Paidós Iberica.

-Arendt , Hannah , Finkielkraut,Alain.(1989): La crisi de la cultura. Barcelona. Pòrtic.

-Bauman,Z (2002): La cultura como praxis. Barcelona. Paidós.

-Bauman,Z. (2002): Modernidad liquida. FCE. Buenos Aires.

-Burckhardt,J (2004): La cultura del Renacimiento en Italia. Akal. Barcelona

-Burckhardt,J(1999): Reflexiones sobre la historia universal .FCE. México.

-Burckhardt,J (2005): Historia de la cultura griega. 3 vols.Gredos. Madrid.

-Burke,P.(2006): ¿Qué es la historia cultural?.Paidos Iberica. Barcelona

-Butler, Judith (2017): El género en disputa. Paidós Ibérica. Barcelona

-Cassirer, E. (1977): Antropología filosófica. México.FCE.

-Campbell, J. (2001): Loca sabiduría: así fue la generación beat. Barcelona. Alba.

-Cassirer,E. (1993): Filosofia de la Ilustración. FCE. México. @

-Eagleton, T (2001): La idea de cultura. Barcelona. Paidós.

-Èsquil (2000): Prometeu encadenat. La Magrana. Barcelona. @

-Freud, S (2008): El malestar de la civilització. Barcelona. Accent Editorial.

-Gadamer,H-G (1990): La herencia de Europa. Peninsula. Barcelona.

-Gadamer,H-G (2001): El inicio de la sabiduría. Paidós. Barcelona.

-Geertz, C. (2005): La interpretación de las culturas. Gedisa. Barcelona.

- Goethe, J.W.(2009): Faust. Barcelona. Riurau.

-Hesiode (2000): Els treballs i els dies. La Magrana. Barcelona. (PDF) @

- Jaeger, W.(2001): Paidea. Los ideales de la cultura griega. FCE. México.@

-Kant, I. (1999): En defensa de la Ilustración. Alba. Barcelona.

-Kraye, J (2003): Introducción al humanismo renacentista. Barcelona. Akal.

-Lepenies,W.(2008):Melancolía y utopía. Arcadia. Barcelona.

-Marlowe, Ch. (2000): La trágica historia del Doctor Fausto. Cátedra. Madrid.

-May,S (1970): Los Hippies: una contra-cultura. Barcelona. Anagrama.

-Nietzsche, F.W.(2010): La genealogia de la moral. Biblioteca virtual universal. @

-Nietzsche, F.W.(2000): Sobre el porvenir de nuestras escuelas (1872). Barcelona. Tusquets.

-Philonenko,A(1984): Jean-Jacques Rousseau et la pensée du malheur. Vrin. Paris.

-Rousseau, J.-J (1983): Discursos.”Discurs sobre l´origen i els fonaments de la desigualtat entre els homes” (1755). Barcelona. Eds. 62.

 -Safranski,R. (2000): El mal. Tusquets. Barcelona.

-Sloterdijk, P (2006): Crítica de la razon cínica. Madrid. Siruela.

-Sobrevilla, D. ed. (2006): Filosofia de la cultura. Trotta. Madrid.

-Vattimo, G (1987): El fin de la modernidad. Baercelona. Gedisa.

-Vernant, J-P (2000): L’univers, els déu i els homes. Barcelona. Empúries.