Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Critical Thinking I
Other languages of instruction: Spanish
Teaching staff
The teacher will be available to assist students who require it after each class. Personal attention outside of class hours is provided by appointment by email.
Emails:
• Miguel Carricas: macarricas@uic.es
• Ferran Caballero: fcaballero@uic.es
Introduction
As every labour, architectural and artistic activity involve the assumption of basic foundations from which the profession is conceived and the search for objectives that are considered good and for which the availability of adequate means is sought. The study of this process draws a vision of man that varies throughout history, influenced by the cultural conceptions of each era. The knowledge of the currents of thought in which this history takes place offers the possibility of clarifying the links between architecture and anthropology, giving rise to rethink in a more generic way who we are and, consequently, to define our purpose more accurately.
Pre-course requirements
- Participation in classroom
- Capacity for dialogue and teamwork
- Weekly dedication to the revision of the texts proposed in class
- Ability to relate to the rest of the class
Objectives
- To learn to question the value of what is being investigated.
- To assess the importance of critical thinking about the apparently obvious, in order to acquire a more informed knowledge of the object of study.
- To discover the visions of man that underlie human productions that we find in art, architecture or urbanism.
- To dcquire one's own critical thinking on architectural issues supported by a greater knowledge of philosophical anthropology.
- To learn to articulate and coherently express one's own opinions or ideas.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
BASIC
BC02. Students must know how to apply their knowledge professionally to their job or career and have the skills that usually demonstrated by writing and supporting their arguments, and problem-solving within their area of study.
BC03.Students need to be able to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their area of study) so that they can issue opinions that include reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical topics.
BC04. Students are able to convey information, ideas, problems and solutions to specialist and non-specialist audiences.
BC05. Students have developed the learning skills necessary to undertake further studies with a high degree of autonomy.
TRANSVERSE
TC01. To understand that it is proper to the university spirit to face in a critical and reflective way the study of one's own discipline in its connection with the rest of the knowledge.
TC02. Identify the most relevant questions of human existence present in the great religious, humanistic and scientific creations and adopt a reasoned personal stance towards them.
TC03. Discover and judge the anthropological presuppositions and ethical repercussions of the discipline itself.
GENERAL
GC01.Understand the history and theories of architecture and related arts, technologies and human sciences.
GC07. Understand the relationships between people and buildings, and between buildings and their environment, and the need to relate buildings and the spaces between them to human needs and scale.
SPECIFIC TO THE ARCHITECTURE DEGREE
54 - Adequate knowledge of aesthetics and the theory and history of fine and applied arts.
57 - Adequate knowledge of urban sociology, theory, economics and history.
65 - Ability to recognize the characteristics of contemporaneity and freedom in the understanding of architecture.
67 - Ability to understand and analyze architecture and the city in relation to systems of thought and society.
68 - Ability to apply aesthetics and the theory and history of fine arts to architecture and urban planning.
69 - Ability to discover the critical-cultural dimension of the role of the architect.
70 - Ability to understand the main ideas of complex texts in English on topics as concrete as they are abstract, including technical discussions in the field of professional specialization in architecture.
72 - Ability to produce clear and detailed texts in English on a wide range of subjects, especially on architecture, and to express a point of view in English on an issue, setting out the advantages and disadvantages of various options.
75 - Adequate knowledge of the ethical and socio-economic responsibility of the architectural profession.
76 - Adequate knowledge of the importance of ethics and aesthetics in the architectural discipline.
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | COMPETENCES | ECTS CREDITS |
|---|---|---|
| Class exhibition | 40 48 50 51 53 54 55 57 66 67 68 69 75 76 77 | 1,15 |
| Clase practice | 40 48 50 51 53 54 55 57 66 67 68 69 75 76 77 | 1,34 |
| Individual or group study | 40 48 50 51 53 54 55 57 66 67 68 69 75 76 77 | 2,5 |
Learning outcomes of the subject
The kernel of the targets of the subject will have been the competitions acquisition on the part of the students it will have to have done emphasis on the learning methods of the above mentioned competitions and on the procedures to evaluate it.
Syllabus
INTRODUCTION
1, What does it mean to be a university student? + Presentation of the course
FIRST PART
2. The classical heritage
3. Zoon logon and zoon politikon
4. Maedieval unitary picture. Workshop
5. The emergence of modernity
6. Fundamentals in the crisis of modernity in architecture
7. The scientific revolution: modernity in philosophy
8. Post war societies. Liquidity and instability: a broken imagen of human beings
9. Does postmodernity have a way out?
SECOND PART
10. From anthropology to architecture
11. Metaphysical animals: sensitivity
12. The head and the heart: rationality and emotions
13. The city and the zoon politikon
14. Looking for the person in art: back to transcendence
15. Intimacy and the person
16. On freedom and free will
17. Life: a balance between architecture and nature
18. Architecture as a service to others
19. De Amicitia
20. The pursuit of happiness
21. The problem of evil
Teaching and learning activities
In person
Methodology of the face-to-face training activity:
The methodology used seeks interaction between teacher and student, as well as between the students themselves. In each session, first, the teacher presents the content that will be developed during the class. Then, he begins his theoretical presentation, during which questions will be raised in which the intervention of the students is requested and dialogue is established. In addition, practical examples are proposed in the presentation, based on audiovisual content, in writings appropriate to the topic or through eyewitness testimonies. This is intended to facilitate personal understanding of the different aspects of the anthropological issue addressed.
We will try, as far as possible, to carry out group activities that allow specific topics to be addressed in small groups where students can specify their particular vision. In this way, we aim to facilitate maturation on the content addressed, as well as the development of greater personal involvement in it.
Methodology of the non-classroom training activity:
This activity basically consists of writing essays on a free topic, which respond to the student's anthropological concerns, but based on academic criteria previously established during the classes. The professor will be available to guide the topic and development of said essays, as well as to comment on the results. If appropriate, the presentation of the topics covered in the most noteworthy essays will be made possible during the following class sessions.
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | COMPETENCES | ECTS CREDITS |
|---|---|---|
| Class exhibition | 40 48 50 51 53 54 55 57 66 67 68 69 75 76 77 | 1,15 |
| Clase practice | 40 48 50 51 53 54 55 57 66 67 68 69 75 76 77 | 1,34 |
| Individual or group study | 40 48 50 51 53 54 55 57 66 67 68 69 75 76 77 | 2,5 |
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
The assessment of the subject is based on three concepts that add up to 100%:
1. Essay writing. Assessment: 30% of the subject
Writing essays whose theme will have to be defined by each student based on pre-established criteria. For their assessment, three blocks of questions will be considered:
• Correct expression of ideas. Ability to present the topic briefly and clearly, able to attract the reader's interest.
• Logical order of writing. Ability to establish a relationship with other authors who have seriously dealt with the topic (specific quotes will be valued).
• Adhering to what is required (this is not just an essay on art or architecture but on anthropology). Ability to establish the humanistic connection between the topic dealt with and the conclusions drawn from each study.
Two essays will be written, each of which will account for 15% of the final grade for the subject.
2. Final Exam. Assessment 60% of the course, consisting of short questions based on issues discussed during classes
3. Class attendance, participation and collaboration in work teams. Assessment: 10% of the course
Bibliography and resources
ALEXANDER, Christopher.
– A pattern languaje, Oxford University press, Nueva York, 1977. Edición Castellana: ALEXANDER, C. Un lenguaje de patrones, Ed. Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, 1980.
– “Making the garden”, First things, Institute on Religion and Public Life, Los Angeles, February 2016.
ARENDT, Hannah. La condición humana, Ed. Paidós, Buenos Aires, 2009 (ed. original 1958).
ARISTOTLE. Nicomachean Ethics, Mosaicum Books, 2019.
BUBER, Martin.
– Yo y tú, Ed. Nueva Visión, Buenos Aires, 1974 (ed. original 1923).
– ¿Qué es el hombre?, Fondo de cultura económica, Santiago de Chile, 1995 (ed. original 1942).
CERDÁ, Ildefonso. Teoría general de la urbanización, Imprenta española, Madrid, 1867.
ENGELS, Friedrich. “Del socialismo utópico al socialismo científico”, extracto del documento “Anti-Dühring”, Revista Vorwarts, Organo del Partido Socialista, Leipzeig, 1878. Ref.: Marxists Internet Archive, 2000. <https://www.marxists.org/espanol/m-e/1880s/dsusc/1.htm> (6/5/2016).
FRANKL, Victor, El hombre en busca de sentido .
FRAMPTON, Kenneth. Historia crítica de la arquitectura moderna, Ed. Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, 2005
GEHL, Jan. La humanización del espacio urbano, Edit. Reverté, 2006.
HEIDEGGER, Martin
− “Construir, habitar pensar” (Conferencia en Darmstadt, 1951), Conferencias y artículos, Ed. Serval, Barcelona, 1994.
− El origen de la obra de arte, ed. Alianza. Madrid. 1996.
KOOLHAAS Rem. Generic city, 1995
KANT, Inmanuel. Kritik der reinen Vernunft. Akademie Textausgabe, volumen III, Walter de Gruyter, 1968; Crítica de la razón pura, Versión española de Pedro Ribas, Alfaguara, Madrid, 2000.
LE CORBUSIER. Hacia una arquitectura, Ediciones Apóstrofe, Barcelona 1998 (ed. original 1923).
LE CORBUSIER; SERT J. L. Carta de Atenas, Centro de Información de Patrimonio de la ciudad de México (ed. original 1933-1942).
<http://www.patrimonio.cdmx.gob.mx/assets/images/marco_juridico/Carta%20de%20atenas%201933.pdf
LLANO, Alejandro.
– “Organizaciones inteligentes en la sociedad del conocimiento”, Cuadernos empresa y humanismo, n. 61, Universidad de Navarra, 1996.
– Philosophical keys of the current cultural debate. 2004 (traduced)
https://www.bioeticaweb.com/claves-filosasficas-de-los-actuales-debates-culturales-prof-a-llano/
LOOS, Adolf. “To our young architects”, Ornament and Crime, 1898
MORO, Tomás. Utopía, 3º edición castellana, Impr. Mateo Repollés, Madrid,1805.
MUMFORD, Lewis. La ciudad en la historia, Pepitas de calabaza ed., Logroño, 2012.
POLO, Leonardo.
– Quién es el hombre, Ed. Rialp, Madrid 1991.
– Presente y futuro del hombre, Ed. Rialp, Madrid 1993.
– Introducción a la filosofía, Ed. Eunsa 2002.
SMITHSON, Alison y Peter. Urban structuring, Ed. John Lewis, Netherlands, 1967.
VAN EYCK, Aldo.
–The child, the city and the artist, Vincent Ligtelijn y Francis Strauven (ed.). Amsterdam: SUN Publishers, 2008a.
– Collected articles and other writings Vincent Ligtelijn y Francis Strauven (ed.). Amsterdam: SUN Publishers, 2008b.
WOJTYLA, Karol. (Juan Pablo II), Memoria e identidad, Ed. La esfera de los libros, Madrid, 2005,