Universitat Internacional de Catalunya - Barcelona

Current Historical Topics

• code 12303
• course 3
• term Semester 2
• type OB
• credits 3

Main language of instruction: Catalan

Other languages of instruction: Spanish

Head instructor

Dr. Xavier GARÍ - xgari@uic.es

Office hours

You can contact the course professors by email and agree on a date and time for an appointment:

• Xavier Garí: xgari@uic.es
• Ernesto M. Pascual: empascual@uic.es

The course ‘Current Historical Topics ’, intends to make an in-depth review of the most recent historical events, which are influencing and decisively leaving an impression on the current world.

There are no prerequisites.

The objectives of this course are:

1. To know the recent history of the world today, its closest causes and connect it to the latest news.

2. To understand current events through the recent trajectory, in order to foresee their development and potential consequences.

3. To have the main interpretative keys to capture the global nature of today’s world, with its large political and economic regions, great social and cultural challenges, and sense the risks and potentialities of the destinies of humanity.

4. To critically approach the current reality, revealing the causes of the great challenges and to come up with possible alternatives and solutions to the great world problems.

• E01 - Ability to provide a humanistic/cultural vision to other sciences or methods.
• E02 - Ability to use methods and techniques specific to human sciences.
• E03 - Ability to appropriately use key concepts in the area of culture.
• E04 - Ability to recognise and interpret cultural manifestations.
• E05 - Ability to evaluate social issues linked to cultural diversity.
• E06 - Awareness of and respect for different points of view resulting from cultural and social diversity.
• E07 - To acquire knowledge on the different issues and problems of current cultural debate and be aware of their constant change.
• E08 - To distinguish and understand the structures of different cultural systems.
• E09 - To understand the limits and forms of intercultural communication.
• E10 - Ability to define research topics which can contribute knowlege and contribute to cultural debate.
• E11 - Ability to interpret data and relate it to appropriate theories.
• E12 - To acquire knowledge and understanding of imaginary, iconic and symbolic languages and their representation.
• E13 - To acquire knowlege of the general diachronic framework of the past.
• E15 - Ability to identify and value the different elements which make up cultural heritage.
• E16 - To acquire knowledge of the different models and policies of other cultures and migrant groups.
• E17 - To acquire knowledge of the situation in Europe from a comparative perspective.
• E18 - To acquire the perception and knowledge of the physical space in which human activity develops.
• E19 - Ability to locate, observe and interpret real or represented spaces, territories and landscapes.
• E20 - Ability to reflect on human-environment interaction and the organisation of the resulting territory.
• E22 - To acquire knowledge of and the ability to use data collection instruments (biliographic catalogues, inventory archives, documentary sources, electronic sources, etc).
• E23 - Ability to use computer resources and techniques to produce essays on cultural topics.
• E24 - Ability to present the results of research project in accordance with the standards of each subject area.
• E25 - Ability to communicate orally in one's own language and other languages using the terminology and resources accepted in the cultural framework of each language
• E28 - Ability to organise complex cultural information coherently.
• E29 - Skills for mediating in conflicts involving intercultural factors.
• E30 - Ability to define cultural research topics which can contribute to the improvement and innovation of society.
• E37 - To have current knowledge of the areas of study related to international issues, taking into account contributions from relevant resources, such as a critical reflection on the impact of tourism (including cultural tourism) on development.
• E38 - To be aware of the problem surrounding information sources in international issues.
• E39 - Ability to criticise and self-criticise in an intercultural dialogue and the ability to adapt and converse in a multi- or intercultural setting (versatility, ability to handle unforeseen problems and generate alternative solutions).
• E40 - Ability to cooperate in, motivate and lead multicultural teams (understood as the ability to create and leverage synergies).
• G01 - To analyse and interpret social and cultural environments to identify need, opportunities, weaknesses and strenghts..
• G02 - To lead, cooordinate and form part of interdisciplinary work teams.
• G03 - To search for and/or administer economic resources within the framework of an institution or company, or a cultural programmes, project or service.
• G04 - To know how to communicate, encourage and mediate between the various agents involved in a cultural project, programme or service.
• G05 - To act responsibly and produce high-quality, rigorous and efficient work that benefits society.
• G07 - To know how to apply and adapt to new technologies in processes of cultural management, production and dissemination.
• G08 - Ability to carry out research.
• G11 - Ability to work in an international context.

At the end of the course, the student should be able to:

1. Absorb key concepts of the study of Current Contemporary History analysing it critically.
2. Contextualise and place relevant cultural, social and political phenomena.
3. Connect concepts in a transverse and multidisciplinary way.
4. Apply and transfer theoretical and/or abstract concepts from each geographical area or conceptual framework studied.
5. Read and analyse in depth texts and articles related to current political, social and cultural issues.
6. Write narrative and descriptive texts.
7. Systematise data and heterogeneous information.
8. Respect the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations in the Current World.
9. Appropriately use the resources and methodologies that are used in the study of Current Contemporary History.
10. Search, select and manage information autonomously to capture the historical contexts that are studied, as well as independently expand their own knowledge.

Introduction

1. Economic development and human welfare
2. Demographic transition and social change
3. Political debates around democracy
4. War and Peace in the 20th century and the wars of 9/11
5. Europe
6. United States
7. Russia and the Soviet heritage
8. Eastern Asia
9. India and Pakistan
10. Middle East and North Africa
11. Sub-Saharan Africa
12. Latin America

Classes will include a theoretical and lecture part, which will be combined with the participation of students through the reading of chapters from the basic bibliography, through discussions and presentations, as well as seeing a brief documentary in the classroom, or a longer one outside of it. It is recommended to acquire the book indicated in the basic bibliography, and to read each chapter before the corresponding session.

The COMPULSORY bibliography is a single monographic work that we will use almost in its entirety, and that you can acquire in digital version, paper or from the library. This is the corresponding information:

• AVILÉS, Juan, PARDO, Rosa, SEPÚLVEDA, Isidro, ‘Las clase del mundo actual. Una historia global desde 1989’, Editorial Síntesis,, Madrid 2014.

At the end of this monograph there is an EXTENDED bibliography corresponding to each of the chapters that we will work on.