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Philosophy of Culture

Code: 100028 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Humanities OT 3
Humanities OT 4

Contact

Name:
Joan Carles Cirera Izquierdo
Email:
joancarles.cirera@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


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.

 

The teaching methodology and the evaluation proposed in the guide may under go some modification subject to the onsite teaching restrictions imposed by health authorities


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? Schiller, Freud, Adorno and Mead/Benedict
  2. Modernity and culture: Baudelaire 
  3. Origin and end of capitalist culture. Prometheus, Faust and Don Giovanni.
  4. Nancy Fraser on the cracks in the system

 

         a. Construction and critique of the great bourgeois imaginary : XIX-XX centuries.

         b.Totalitarianism as a cultural matrix of the 20th century

        c. Thought, femenine and singular: Arendt and Zambrano  or culture in exile

       


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Master class 50 2 3, 6, 8
Type: Supervised      
tutorials in the office (group) 4 0.16
tutorials in the office (personal) 4 0.16
Work of development of the subject 18 0.72 4, 1, 8
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

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.

 

Several innovative teaching methodologies are proposed, such as holding a Congress on the subject at the end of the year, the use of gamification and flipped classes

 

 

For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively in support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction, or translations.
The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how they have influenced the process and the final result of the activity.
Lack of transparency in the use ofAI in this assessable activity will be considered a lack of academic honesty and may result in a partial or total penalty in the activity grade, or greater sanctions in serious cases.”

 

 

 
 

 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Abstacts and text comments 30% 3 0.12 4, 7, 8
Exams (1 written exam) 20% 2 0.08 4, 5, 3, 8
Group discussions 10% 1 0.04 4, 1, 6, 8
Oral and written presentation of the course work. 40% 2 0.08 1, 2, 8

Evaluation

The first bloc will be assessed as follows:

A. One written assessments in class 2/10 points (20% of the final grade)

 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, it will by done virtually 

B. 3 (1x3) points - 30% 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.

C. 1 point (10% of the final grade) for attendance, proactive participation towards the subject

 

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 thefinalgrade. The minimum compulsory grade must be 3.5.

The written task will onlybe accepted if thetutoring sessions have previously taken place with the professor.

According to point 9 of article 266 of the UAB Academic Regulations, when it is considered that the student has not been able to provide sufficient evidence of assessment
, this subject must be classified as non-assessable and at the same time, the teaching guide must establish the criteria for assigning a non-assessable.

 

 

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.

 

Unique assessment

All those students who want to take advantage of the single evaluation modality will have to take into account the following items:
										
											
										
											
										
											1. There will be only one day to evaluate them - the exact date will be provided the first week of the course.
										
											
										
											2. On the appointed day, the evidence or exercises requested during the course will be delivered (3 points=30% of the final grade)
The appointed day, an exam similar to the one proposed in the home of the subject will be carried out, but it includes all the material explained and delivered in the in the form of notes, pptx,conferences and the other material at the beginning of the course (3 points =30% of the final grade)
4. You will be able to participate in the Congress under the same conditions as the rest of the class; If this modality is not accepted, it will be done individually (written presentation, 2 points = 20% of the final grade) and will be presented (orally, 20 m; 2 points= 20% of the final grade) on the same day of the evaluation -after or before the written test-, having to carry out the same tutoring process as that the others.
The same recovery system will be applied as for continuous assessment


The rules to access the recovery is the same that governs the continuous evaluation.Students will obtain a Not assessed/Not submitted course grade unless they have submitted more than 1/3 of the assessment items.

 

The same non-assessable criterion will be applied as for continuous assessment
The review of the final grade follows the same procedure as for
										
											continuous assessment

 

 


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

-Amaris Duarte, O (2021): Una poética del exilio. Hannah Arendt y María Zambrano. Barcelona. Herder.

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

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

-Arendt, H. (2006): Eichmann en Jerusalem. Madrid . Debolsillo

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

-Arendt, H. (2006): Los orígenes del Totalitarismo. Madrid. Alianza Editorial.

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

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

-Beauvoir, S. de (2017): El segundo sexo. Madrid, Cátedra.

-Beauvoir, S. de (2020): La mujer rota. Madrid. Lunwerg.

-Benedict, R. (1989): El hombre y la cultura. Barcelona. Edhasa

-Benhabib,S. (2017): Existeix el dret a tenir drets?. Barcelona.Breus 83. CCCB

-Bohannon,C. (2025): Eva. Barcelona. Seix Barral.

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

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

-Butler,J  (2010): Violència d'Estat, Guerra, Resistència.Barcelona.Breus 40.CCCB.

-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.

-Fraser, N. (2014): Repensar el capitalisme.Breus 70.Barcelona.CCCB

_Fraser,N. (2012): Sobre la justícia. Breus 57.Barcelona. CCCB

-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) @

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

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

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

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

-Marzano,M (2008): La violència. Breus 23. Barcelona. CCCB.

-Mead, M. (1998): Masculino y Femenino. Barcelona. Minerva Ediciones.

-Mead, M. (2019): Cultura y compromiso. Barcelona. Gedisa

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

 -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.

-Soto García, P  (2023): María Zambrano. Barcelona. Herder.

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

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

-Zacarés Pamplano, A. (2021): María Zambrano, filosofa de la generación del 27.Madrid. Antígona.

-Zambrano. M. (2019): La tumba de Antígona. Madrid. Alianza Editorial


Software

Use will by made - if virtuality so requires - of all telematic connection platforms (teams, meet, zoom etc) to carry out the normal development of the class, as well as the transport tools of data (Wetransferd, for exemple) necessary for the normal development of the subject.

 


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed