Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Society and Culture in the 21st Century
Other languages of instruction: English
If the student is enrolled for the English track then classes for that subject will be taught in the same language.
Teaching staff
Part I
Wendy R Simon
Convene personally with the professor or contact at wmramirez@uic.es
Part II
Miguel López-Remiro
Introduction
By cultural management we understand the administration of the resources of a cultural organization with the aim of offering a product or service that reaches the largest number of public or consumers, providing maximum satisfaction.
The cultural manager, therefore, manages "culture" making it accessible to the contemporary human being.
The general objective of the subject is to offer a theoretical reflection of the "mission" of the manager. It answers the question "for what", contextualizing it in today's society.
The specific and transversal objectives proposed for the achievement of the general objective are:
- Define and understand in depth the philosophical and anthropological concept of "Culture"
- Understand how the past affects the present. The construction of "Culture"
- Deepen the understanding between culture and society
- Analyze the mechanisms of interaction between both.
- Detect the keys of the modern era, the main ideologies and cultural movements of greater relevance
As future cultural managers we will look for answers in Museums and Cultural Institutions of Barcelona, as well as in some of the most relevant contemporary authors and their different theoretical perspectives. In addition, one important object of our study will be the multicultural contribution of the components of the international group.
Pre-course requirements
Same as for the Master's.
Objectives
This course is divided into two parts. The main part, which takes up the main bulk of the course, offers to the student an overview of the key elements necessary to understanding where occidental culture stands in the 21st century. The approach will combine the Western philosophical, sociological and anthropological perspectives to explain the main traits that formed society and culture in the 20th century and then will attempt to give a plausible explanation for the evolution that it endured during the next 100 years. We hope to provide the student of this course with enough structured knowledge to have an informed guide as to what culture is, what it means and how it is expressed in the 21st century-especially in opposition to what it had been before our times.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
1. Basic ompetences
- To have and understand knowledge which provides a grounding or opportunity to be original in terms of the development and/or application of ideas, often in a research-based context.
- To be able to integrate knowledge and face the complexity of making judgments from information that, although incomplete or limited, includes reflections on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
2. General competences
- To act responsibly, and produce good quality rigorous and efficient work that is placed at the service of society.
- To demonstrate an ability to be open and flexible in attending to cultural and social diversity in the environment.
- To know how to apply and adapt to new technologies in processes of cultural management, production and dissemination.
3. Cross-disciplinary competences
- To design, direct, produce and evaluate projects, programs, strategies, policies or cultural actions which involve a wide variety of different professional profiles, agents and institutions.
4.Specific competences
- To act as an active mediator in processes related to cultural diversity, multiculturalism, globalization and cultural identity, etc.
- To meet the main intellectual and historical streams on the notion of culture.
- To gain the needed ability to grasp cultural tendencies and gaps both actual and future whether local, regional or international.
- To deepen into the function of culture in our society as well as its relevance for a future development.
- To research concepts like cultural diversity, multiculturality, globalization and cultural identity.
- To be aware of the mediation role of the cultural manager to be developed within society.
Learning outcomes of the subject
1. Historiographical Literacy. Students will build on their training to deepen their knowledge of the cultural and social significance of masterworks or masterpieces. They will deepen their understanding of the ideas and social contexts in which proposed culture works are placed.
2. Critical Thinking. Students will be able to investigate critically how specific scholars in their field of specialization have discussed the ideas and masterworks in conflict with other aspects of historical and social development within particular cultures. By the end of their course, students should be able both to critique cultural and social scholarship in their area of specialization and to begin to deploy significant methodological strategies in their own work as will be manifested in their MA thesis
3. Research Skills. Students will strengthen their ability to develop appropriate research topics and questions to effectively shape their projects. They will be able to find appropriate research sources through the effective use of material in libraries and databases, and will develop the ability to use archival or other primary sources.
4. Communication Skills. Students will strengthen their ability to organize and express their thoughts clearly and coherently both in writing and orally. They will learn to produce cogent arguments for their research papers, developing a clear analysis of topics and source materials, and of the scholarly structure of their field of specialization. They will also have learned to use articulate, grammatically correct language and to construct thorough investigations research papers, skills that will culminate in the MA thesis project.
Syllabus
PART I
Person and identity; The notion of culture in the 21st century; Multiculturalism; Humanism; Feminism
PART II
Reflections on the art structures of our times.
Teaching and learning activities
In person
PART I
The first part of the course will follow the project-based learning (PBL) method. After a brief introduction to the course, students will form stable work groups with which they will elaborate a guided project, both during class hours and at home. They will present the results on the last day of class as well as turn in a written version of the project for final grading.
PART II
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
PART I 70% of the course's final grade
Project (for detailed information, please see the corresponding course's material)
PART II 30% of the course's final grade
Final paper
Bibliography and resources
Please, check each lesson's content for more details.