Universitat Internacional de Catalunya - Barcelona

Society and Culture in the 21st Century

• code 06721
• course 1
• term Term 1
• type OB
• credits 3

Main language of instruction: Spanish

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.

Head instructor

Dra. Wendy Maria RAMÍREZ - wmramirez@uic.es

Office hours

Before each class or at the following e-mail wmramirez@uao.es

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.

Same as for the Master's.

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.

1. The kernel of the targets of the new organization of the education (Bologna European University Space) is the competitions acquisition on the part of the students.

2. It will have to do emphasis on the learning methods of the above mentioned competitions and on the procedures to avaluate them.

3. The term competency is used here exclusively in its academic meaning, and not in the meaning of professional attribution. It is a combination of knowledge, skills (intellectual, manual, social, etc.), attitudes and values to solve problems or to intervene in matters.

BASIC COMPETENCES

CB1 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.

CB3 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.

GENERAL COMPETENCES

CG5 To act responsibly, and produce good quality rigorous and efficient work that is placed at the service of society.

CG6 To demonstrate an ability to be open and flexible in attending to cultural and social diversity in the environment.

CG7 To know how to apply and adapt to new technologies in processes of cultural management, production and dissemination.

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY COMPETENCES

CT1 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.

SPECIFIC COMPETENCES

1. To act as an active mediator in processes related to cultural diversity, multiculturalism, globalization and cultural identity, etc. (CE2)
2. To meet the main intellectual and historical streams on the notion of culture.
3. To gain the needed ability to grasp cultural tendencies and gaps both actual and future whether local, regional or international.
4. To deepen into the function of culture in our society as well as its relevance for a future development.
5. To research concepts like cultural diversity, multiculturality, globalization and cultural identity.
6. To be aware of the mediation role of the cultural manager to be developed within society.

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.

Lesson 1. Person and identity

Lesson 2. The notion of culture in the 21st century.

Lesson 3. Multiculturalism

Lesson 4. Humanism

Lesson 5. Feminism

Lesson 6. Reflections on the art structures of our times.

In the first part of the course, students will be introduced to the basic theoretical framework through traditional lectures. Nevertheless the methodology will be participative. Dialogue, an open debate and active shared reflection will allow students not only to accumulate knowledge but also develop a critical point of view.

I PART 60% of the course's final grade

50% Workshops

40% final exam

10% attitude and participation

II PART 40% of the course's final grade

Final paper 

Please, check each lesson's content for more details.