Major Topics in Philosophy
Code: 100219Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Musicology | FB | 1 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Laura Benitez Valero
- Email :
- laura.benitez@uab.cat
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
None.
Objectives
This course seeks to provide an introduction to the central themes and debates in the history of thought.
Learning outcomes
- Submitting works in accordance with both individual and small group demands and personal styles.
- Effectively express and textual argumentative applying formal procedures and scientific texts.
- Use the appropriate terminology in the construction of an academic text.
- Establishing relationships between science, philosophy, art, religion, politics, etc.
- Identifying normative, stylistic or argumentative errors in a text.
- Distinguishing some representative texts from the main genres of the philosophical literature.
- Autonomously searching, selecting and processing information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network.
- Rewriting the stance of a typical philosophical author in a clear and precise manner.
- Arguing about several subjects and philosophical problems for the purpose of different works and assessing the results.
- Organizing their own time and work resources: designing plans with priorities of objectives, calendars and action commitments.
- Summarizing the main arguments of the analysed philosophical texts.
- Identify situations in which a change or improvement is needed.
- Assess the impact of the difficulties, prejudices and discriminations that actions or projects may involve, in the short or long term, in relation to certain persons or groups.
Contents
1. Thinking Through Sound: What Is Philosophy?
1.1. Philosophy as a practice of thinking and listening.
1.2. Sound as a philosophical device: perception, experience and imagination.
1.3. Philosophy, sound arts and experimental practices.
2. What Can We Know? Listening, Perception and the Production of Knowledge
2.1. Listening as a mode of knowledge.
2.2. Body, perception and environment: the debate between representation and experience.
2.3. Technologies of listening, recording and the construction of reality.
3. How Do We Live Together? Ethics, Politics and Sonic Communities
3.1. Listening, alterity and coexistence.
3.2. Public space, soundscape and acoustic ecology.
3.3. Voice, silence, power and forms of resistance.
4. Sound Practices and Contemporary Thought
4.1. Body, affects and the mind–body relationship.
4.2. Gender, identity and the politics of the voice.
4.3. Sonic ecologies and the environmental crisis.
4.4. Sound, artificial intelligence, algorithms and digital cultures.
4.5. Globalization, memory and situated sonic practices.
4.6. Sonic experimentation as research and the production of thought.
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminars | 11 | 0.44 | |
| Study/Case resolution | 31 | 1.24 | |
| Readings from the recommended bibliography | 44 | 1.76 | |
| Tutorials | 22 | 0.88 | |
| Master Classes | 35 | 1.4 |
The course methodology combines theoretical presentations by the lecturer with participatory seminar-style and workshops activities.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay or Short Sound Piece | 33,3% | 2.5 | 0.1 | 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13 |
| Final Project and Presentation | 33,3% | 2.5 | 0.1 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 |
| Listening Cartography and Critical Commentary | 33,3% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10 |
Assessment
Continuous assessment consists of three assessment tasks, each corresponding to a different block of the course content. These tasks combine philosophical analysis, sonic experimentation, and critical reflection in accordance with the learning objectives of the course.
Assessment 1. Listening Cartography and Critical Commentary
Students will produce a short listening cartography or listening diary based on a route or situation proposed by the instructor. This practical exercise will be accompanied by a written critical commentary relating the listening experience to the philosophical concepts explored during the first two blocks of the course.
Assessment 2. Essay or Short Sound Piece
Students will develop a critical reflection on an ethical, political, or social issue addressed during the course. The assignment may take the form of either a short essay or an original sound piece (podcast, composition, annotated field recording, or an equivalent format), accompanied by a written statement explaining the conceptual and methodological choices underlying the work.
Assessment 3. Final Project and Presentation
The final assessment consists of the development of a small-scale project addressing one of the major challenges of contemporary thought through sonic practices. Projects may take a variety of formats (expanded essay, sound piece, documented installation, podcast, sound cartography, etc.) and will be presented orally to the class in a presentation of no more than fifteen minutes, followed by a brief discussion.
The final sessions of the course will be reserved for project presentations.
Each assessment task will be graded on a 10-point scale. The final course grade will be calculated as the average of the three assessment tasks.
To pass the course, students must obtain a minimum average grade of 4 out of 10 and complete at least two of the three assessment tasks.
For each assessment activity, the instructor will provide students with the specific assessment criteria, submission deadlines, and procedures for grade review.
Students who do not pass one or more assessment tasks may submit a revised version of the corresponding assignment, taking into account the feedback received during the review process.
Alternatively, the instructor may propose an individual reflective or practice-based assessment designed to demonstrate the achievement of the learning outcomes associated with the failed content.
To be eligible for reassessment, students must have completed at least two of the three assessment tasks.
Students will receive a final grade of "Not Assessable" (NA) if they have submitted less than 30% of the assessment activities.
Any irregularity committed by a student that may significantly affect the assessment of an activity will result in a grade of 0 (zero) for that activity, regardless of any disciplinary procedures that may also apply. If multiple irregularities are detected within the same course, the student's final grade for the course will be 0 (zero).
Artificial Intelligence Policy
Model 1 – Prohibited Use
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not permitted at any stage of this course. Any assignment containing material generated by AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or full reduction of the grade for the assignment, or more severe disciplinary sanctions in cases of serious misconduct.
Erasmus students who need to leave before the scheduled assessment dates must provide an official document from their home university addressed to the Degree Exchange Coordinator, certifying that this is required due to academic calendar constraints (i.e., an overlap with academic activities at their home university).
Bibliography
This bibliography presents some of the books that are used in class for specific questions, none of them does the \"manual\" function to be able to follow the whole subject.
Bréhier, Émile (1998) Història de la filosofia i de la ciència. Madrid: Tecnos.
Copleston, Frederick (2001) Manual de Filosofía, 9 vol. Barcelona: Ariel.
Federici, Silvia (2004) Calibán y la bruja. Madrid: Traficantes de Sueños.
Ferrater Mora, Josep (1981) Diccionario de Filosofía, 4 vol. Madrid: Alianza.
Geymonat, Ludovico (1998) Història de la filosofia i de la ciència. Barcelona: Crítica.
Jaspers, Karl (1993) Introducció a la Filosofia. Barcelona: Edicions 62.
LaBelle, Brandon (2006) Background Noise: Perspectives on Sound Art. New York: Continuum.
LaBelle, Brandon (2018) Sonic Agency: Sound and Emergent Forms of Resistance. London: Goldsmiths Press.
Rowlands, Mark (2009) El filósofo y el lobo. Barcelona: Seix Barral.
Reale, Giovanni et al. (1988) Historia del pensamiento filosófico y científico, 3 vol. Barcelona: Herder.
Schafer, R. Murray (1994) The Soundscape: Our Sonic Environment and the Tuning of the World. Rochester: Destiny Books.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Veure: https://plato.stanford.edu/
Szendy, Peter (2008) Listen: A History of Our Ears. New York: Fordham University Press.
Terricabras, Josep Maria (coord.) (2001) El pensament filosòfic i científic. Vol. I i II. Barcelona: Pòrtic.
Voegelin, Salomé (2010) Listening to Noise and Silence: Towards a Philosophy of Sound Art. New York: Continuum.
Voegelin, Salomé (2014) Sonic Possible Worlds: Hearing the Continuum of Sound. New York: Bloomsbury.
Volpi, Franco (2005) Enciclopedia de obras de filosofía. Barcelona: Herder.
Weston, Anthony (1994) Las claves de la argumentación. Barcelona: Ariel.
Software
No specific software required.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |