Theory of Culture
Module: The keys to culture
Matter: Culture: concepts and basic experience
Main language of instruction: Catalan
Other languages of instruction: Spanish
Head instructor
Dr. Martín Andrés CURIEL - macuriel@uic.es
Office hours
Appointments by email at macuriel@uic.es
Culture represents the scene where all human experiences take place, practically since the beginning of Humanity. Culture is in constant change as are societies and their cultural constructions.
Fourteen years have passed since the change of the century and that fact has produced a multitude of critical reflections on globalising Postmodernity –not globalisation–, which is the same as adding that the last question is based, in essence, on one’s own Human Culture in transition.
The challenge of postmodernism was reborn in Germany as the Philosophy of Culture, in an effort to find answers, with structure and sense, after losing the battle against Social Anthropologists, who had the appropriate authorship and reflection on the term ‘culture’. The work by Ortega y Gassett, in essence a Philosopher of Culture, takes on resurgent senses.
No prerequisites are needed to enrol in this course.
The philosophical reflection on culture should contribute greatly to educate the students.
1. INTRODUCTION.
2. THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE FROM THE FIELDS OF KNOWLEDGE.
2.1 Origin of the term.
2.2. In the Social Sciences.
2.3 In Biology.
2.4. The construction of the myth of Culture.
2.5 The Philosophy of Culture. Features, deduction, method.
3. PHENOMENOLOGY OF CULTURE.
3.1 By Ortega.
3.2 By Husserl.
3.3 By Heidegger.
3.4 Phenomenology of Culture.
4. TYPES OF CULTURE AND CULTURAL SCENARIOS
4.1 Technical Culture
4.2 Culture as an ideal
4.3 Culture as praxis
4.4 cultural scenarios: work, family-politics, death, game (and body)
5. THE CRISIS OF THE IDEAL OF CULTURE
5.1 The ideal of culture in Husserl
5.2 Criticism of Humanism in Heidegger
5.3 Marketing and culture
5.4 Body and culture: Posthumanism
Each session is divided into two parts. The first part involves an explanation and analysis; the second part requires the development of a component of the course by each student which we call ‘contribution to the class’. In addition, each student must perform an oral presentation in class whose content shall be specified by the professor of the course.
50% Formative evaluation
50% Final exam
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