Universitat Internacional de Catalunya - Barcelona

Human Thought 2

• code 07809
• course 1
• term Semester 2
• type OB
• credits 3

Module: Economic Framework

Matter: The individual, Business and Society

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

Dr. Ernesto Manuel PASCUAL - empascual@uic.es
Dr. Miquel SOLANS - msolans@uic.es

Office hours

 Please make an appointment by e-mail.

Based on the assumption that students have already acquired basic knowledge about social  thought, this course is intended to take a further step towards covering some of the contributions to the main contemporary theoretical debates in the field of political theory and philosophy.

There are no formal prerequisites for taking this course. However, it is assumed that the student has the necessary skills to tackle texts of certain conceptual complexity, work on them appropriately, present them in public and discuss their content critically.

Students should also have the habit of reading general information newspapers, both Spanish and foreign.

Given the scope of the material, we have opted to make an incursion into the work and thought of some of the leading authors in the main currents of contemporary political theory.
This course will therefore focus on:

1. Introducing the main currents and debates and arguments of contemporary regulatory policy theory from a contextualist perspective, that is, guided by the fundamental problems of today’s democracies.

2. Complementing the empirical perspective of human thought using a normative and pluralist approach to values, arguments and assumptions on the basis of which research questions and designs are designed, if they use and evaluate public policies or institutions.

3. Developing a critical perspective towards analysis of the concepts, vocabularies and underlying assumptions of the institutional arrangements and public policies in contemporary democracies.

4. Reviewing arguments, ideas and political concepts and enriching vocabulary to improve the capacity for personal reflection, argumentation, presentation and oral and written expression.

5. Relating contemporary theoretical-political debates to the other intellectual and political dimensions of contemporary cultural life: cinema, painting, music, literature.

• 65 - To acquire the ability to put knowledge into practice.
• 68 - To develop mechanisms that encourage sensitivity towards social welfare issues.
• 11 - To be familiar with the main concepts and theories related to humanity and society.
• 12 - To be familiar with the main concepts and theories of economic and business philosophy.
• 33 - To be able to search for, interpret and convey information.
• 50 - To acquire the ability to relate concepts, analyse and synthesise.
• 52 - To develop interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of a team.
• 53 - To acquire the skills necessary to learn autonomously.
• 54 - To be able to express one’s ideas and formulate arguments in a logical and coherent way, both verbally and in writing.
• 56 - To be able to create arguments which are conducive to critical and self-critical thinking.
• 57 - To acquire skills which favour reading comprehension.
• 60 - To acquire knowledge that promotes respect for other cultures and habits.
• 61 - To develop skills for adapting to new situations.
• 62 - To acquire mechanisms that facilitate the adoption of ethical commitments.
• 64 - To be able to plan and organise one's work.

Analyse and critically assess the emergence of liberalism.
Analyse and critically evaluate the emergence of interwar fascism and the reconstruction of liberal-democratic thinking after World War II.
Analyse and critically evaluate alternatives to liberalism.
Debate from different theoretical perspectives.
Debate the rebirth of republicanism.
Debate the communitarianism-libertarianism conflict.
Describe the emergence of the State in a modern sense and set out the theoretical contributions of Machiavelli, Bodino, Hobbes.
Describe and comment validly on the new approaches of democratic-liberal thought, as individualistic foundation or the neutrality of institutional designs.
Evaluate the contribution of movements such as feminism, environmentalism and various identity movements.
Explain the redefinition of the concept of citizenship in the context of globalisation.
Describe the impact of the emergence of Christianity on political thought.

1. Democracy

- case study

2. Liberty

- case study

3. Toleration

- case study

4. Equality and Social Justice

- case study

5. Human Rights

- case study

6. Global Justice

- case study

Theoretical explanations and practical activities will be alternated.

This course is assessed as follows:

Participation: 10%

Reading tests: 15%

Argumentative Essay: 25%

Final Examination: 50%

There are some special considerations for the conditions of the evaluation system:

In order to pass the course students must pass the final examination with at least 5/10.

Attendance is mandatory.

All submissions must be made through the Virtual Campus in the specific space provided for this purpose. Any submission after the deadline or submitted by other means will be considered not to have been submitted.

Finally, if any type of plagiarism is detected (repetition of projects from other years, websites, books, etc.), during any of the planned activities, the whole module will be failed, and must be repeated in its entirety.

Other materials: during the course the documents necessary for carrying out practical activities will be distributed in class or uploaded in the Moodle.