Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking ECTS: 5 Recommended Contact Hours: 50
Students studying Critical Thinking will enroll into an innovative curriculum modality comprised of 2 academic modules: Media: Shaping our Perceptions and Principles for a Life Philosophy. These comprehensive modules meet for 120 minutes, 5 days a week over a 4 weeks session for a combined total of 2,400 minutes.
Media: Shaping Our Perceptions
Course description
The purpose of this course is to explore the role of media in western democracies and the ways in which such an influential sector shapes culture, politics and the economy. The course aims to achieve this goal through a critical perspective, that is, by highlighting the positive and, more importantly, the negative effects of Media on society and citizenship.
Once strengths and weaknesses have been identified and reflected upon, proposals will be presented (by students) on potential reforms that would allow the Media industry to make a more meaningful and constructive contribution to democratic life.
The lectures and explanations will be multidisciplinary in scope (economics, politics, technology) and special attention will be paid to the notions of “power“ and “corporate social responsibility“ as tools for the analysis, understanding and criticism.
Prerequisites
None isrequired
Workload Distribution
Students will be expected to do a presentation, a research project and a reading prior to eachsession.
Contribution of the course to the program
An opportunity to better understand the structure, dynamics and effects of a powerful and far reaching industry with which we all engage in a close and daily relationship. And an opportunity to improve this relationship.
Learning objectives
Being able to provide in‐depth answers the following questions: • to what extent are our beliefs and behavior shaped and reinforced by the Media? • do the Media function as the “Fourth Branch of Government” and decisively
International Summer Program Critical Thinking determine policy preferences? • how powerful are the Media to influence the course of economic activity and cycles? • is there a conflict between the notion of free‐press and a concentrated, corporatedominated Mediasector? • which criteria should be used in judging the Media’s contribution to democracy?
Skills developed
•capacity to dissect and criticize • team work • creativity in making a proposal for improvement . Content
1: Introduction to the course. Media industry trends and overview. 2: Global media map and media business models. 3: Journalism: Decisions and Dilemmas. 4: The cultural power and impact of Media and Entertainment. 5: Media shaping business and media CSR. 6: Media’s role in domestic politics: campaigns and elections. 7: International politics and media. 8: New media and social media. 9: A proposal to reform the Media industry: presentation by students.
Methodology
The course will be highly interactive. The methodology will combine reading assignments, lectures, case discussions, debates, videos and presentations. Students will be asked to be highly participative during class discussions and work on a research project based on the knowledge and conclusions reached throughout the course.
Evaluation System
Attendance and class participation: 25% Brief exercises: 10% Team presentation: 25% Research project: 40%
Performance criteria
Students are expected to attend class and read the required readings. They are also expected and will be encouraged to participate actively in class discussions, using their knowledge, background and also the notions explained in the required readings. Group presentations and research projects will be assessed based on: a) research effort, b) depth and originality, c) effort to relate to topics discussed in class, d) form and style of the presentation.
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Basic bibliography
Castells, Manuel, "A Network Theory of Power." International Journal of Communication." Vol. 5. April 2011. pp 773‐778. Castells, Manuel and Amelia Arsenault, “The Structure and Dynamics of Global Multi‐Media Business Networks”. International Journal of Communication Vol 2, 2008. pp 707‐748. Gilboa, Eytan, “The CNN Effect: The Search for a Communication Theory of International Relations”, Political Communication. Vol. 22. 2005. pp 27‐44. McChesney, Robert W., The Political Economy of Media: Enduring Issues, Emerging Dilemmas, Monthly Review Press, 2008 Klaehn, Jeffery, The Political Economy of Media and Power, Peter Lang Publishing, 2010 Pew Research Center. “State of the News Media 2014”, March 2014 Waldman, Steven, “The Information Needs of Communities”, FCC, July 2011
Websites
Bureau of Investigative Journalism: http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/ Centre for Media Literacy:http://www.medialit.org/ Global Witness: http://www.globalwitness.org/index.php Jeff Jarvis’s blogg:http://buzzmachine.com/ Media Awareness Network: http://www.media‐awareness.ca/english/index.cfm Media Education Foundation: http://www.mediaed.org Media Matters: http://mediamatters.org/ Media Research Center: http://www.mrc.org/public/default.aspx Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism: http://www.journalism.org/ PR Watch: http://www.prwatch.org/ Pro Publica: http://www.propublica.org/ Reuters Institute ‐ Study of Journalism (U. of Oxford): http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/ Truth Dig: http://www.truthdig.com/
Filmography:
. Citizen Kane – Orson Welles (1941) . His Girl Friday – Howard Hawks (1941) . Ace in the Hole – Billy Wilder (1951) . Deadline U.S.A. – Richard Brooks (1952) . Sweet Smell of Success – Alexander Mackendrick (1957) . The Candidate – Michael Ritchie (1972) . Network – Sidney Lumet (1976) . Annie Hall – Woody Allen (1977) . Broadcast News – James L. Brooks (1987) . Bob Roberts – Tim Robbins (1992) . Mad City – Constantin Costa‐Gavras (1997) . Bullworth – Warren Beatty (1998) . Primary Colors – Mike Nichols (1998) . The Insider – Michael Mann (1999)
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. The Wire – David Simon (2002‐2008) . Shattered Glass – Bill Ray (2003) . Lions for Lambs – Robert Redford (2007) . Poison d’avril – William Karel (2007) . State of Play ‐ Kevin MacDonald (2009) . In the Loop – Armando Iannucci (2009) . Fair Game – Doug Liman (2010) . The Newsroom – Aaron Sorkin (2012)
International Summer Program Critical Thinking
In Search of Principles for a Life Philosophy: Lessons from Art, History and Economics Course description and methodology
The purpose of this course is to provide students with a time and a space for humanistic growth and learning. It is our firm belief that humanistic learning leads also to the improvement of professional capabilities. More cultivated human beings make better managers and executives.
A variety of subjects will be explained and discussed, both as a source of knowledge in themselves and, more importantly, as a springboard for another level of learning: to reflect on a set of principles with which to navigate successfully through life’s dilemmas and uncertainties.
Each session will be devoted to a specific topic of artistic, economic or historical importance. The focus of the lecture will be to explain the context, causes, consequences, artistic movement to which it belongs or economic theory that explains it. Next, moving from large to small and from general to personal, a discussion will ensue to try to extract, with everyone's insight, a lesson or a principle enlightening and useful enough for us to want to remember and include in our “life philosophy”. The discussions will be enriched with the ideas obtained from a reading assignment: a short story by some of Literature’s classic writers (Tolstoi, Poe, Proust, Kafka, Dostoievski...).
Each participant will be able to draw his or her own conclusions, but an important part of the course will be the discussions to try to agree on a common list of principles that we consider useful for living a fulfilling life. The discussions will be very open and will adhere to only one requirement: that all thoughts and proposals are guided by a desire for self‐ improvement.
Learning objectives and contribution of the course to the program
A time for students to assess their personal strengths and shortcomings and to reflect on the values they want to work on and live by. Other learning objectives are: . to learn to extract useful lessons from ideas and experiences . to encourage the desire to read and to expand one’s humanistic knowledge . to cultivate our appreciation for literature and art . to broaden our historical awareness
International Summer Program Critical Thinking
Lecture topics
1. Introduction. Crises and bubbles under Capitalism 2. Counterculture through the ages 3. Lev Tolstoi 4. Solving unemployment: the handshake approach 5. Einstein’s mistakes. 6. The birth of cinema and the art of Charles Chaplin 7. The US vs. China: Financial dispute over the yuan 8. Explorers 9. From creativity to innovation
Workload
Assigned readings of about 30 minutes prior to each session, followed by a brief thread in which the students write down their “initial thoughts on the reading” to be further discussed in class.
Evaluation
. 33% threads on the readings . 34% class participation . 33% final essay: “A Letter to Myself”
Selected bibliography
. Animal Spirits, George Akerlof and Robert Shiller (2009) . Consumed, Benjamin Barber (2007) . Understanding Capitalism, Bowles, Edwards and Roosevelt (2005) . “The Stock Market’s Reaction to Unemployment News”, Boyd, Hu and Jagannathan (2005) . Arms, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond (2006) . The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time, Will Durant (2002) . Counterculture Through the Ages, Ken Goffman (2004) . Atlas of Economic Complexity, Hau Economics smann, Hidalgo, et al. (2011) . Nation of Rebels, Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter (2004) . The Gift, Lewis Hyde (2007) . “The Quiet Coup”, Simon Johnson, The Atlantic (May 2009) . The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, John Maynard Keynes (1936) . International Economics, Krugman, Obstfeld, Melitz, 9th edition (2011) . Sociology, John Macionis, 13th edition (2009) . Stabilizing an Unstable Economy, Hyman Minsky (1986) . Eintein’s Mistakes, Hans C. Ohanian (2009) . Supercapitalism, Robert Reich (2008) . "Global Rebalancing Is America's Job Too", Stephen Roach (2010)
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Literature excerpts read in class
. Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter, Simone de Beauvoir . The Complete Poems, Emily Jane Bronte . Poems, Emily Dickinson . Flaubert in Egypt, Gustave Flaubert . Bouvard and Pécuchet, Gustave Flaubert . The George Sand‐Gustave Flaubert Letters, G. Flaubert and George Sand . Steppenwolf, Hermann Hesse . Diaries, Frank Kafka . Letter to My Father, Franz Kafka . Moby Dick, Herman Melville . The Book of Disquiet, Fernando Pessoa . Apology: On the Death of Socrates, Plato . Lakeside Encounter, Marcel Proust . Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke . The Confessions, Jean‐Jacques Rousseau . The Words, Jean‐Paul Sartre . Sonnets, William Shakespeare . A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy, Laurence Sterne . Walden, H.D. Thoreau . A Confession, Lev Tolstoi . The Light Shines in Darkness, Lev Tolstoi . Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman . To the Lighthouse, Virginia Wolf . Joseph Fouché, Stephan Zweig . Decisive Moments in History, “The Battle for the South Pole”, Stephan Zweig
Filmography used in class:
. L’arrivée d’un train en gare de la Ciotat, Lumière brothers (1896) . L’Age d’Or, Luís Buñuel (1930) . The Circus, Charles Chaplin (1928) . City Lights, Charles Chaplin (1931) . The Great Dictator, Charles Chaplin (1939) . Notorious, Alfred Hitchcock (1946) . The Third Man, Carol Reed (1949) . Twelve Angry Men, Sydney Lumet (1957) . Touch of Evil, Orson Welles (1958) . Le Samourai, Jean‐Pierre Melville (1967) . 2001: A Space Odissey, Stanley Kubrick (1968) . One Flew Over Cuckoo’s Nest, Milos Forman (1975) . Network, Sidney Lumet (1976) . Manhattan, Woody Allen (1979) . Blade Runner, Ridley Scott (1982)
International Summer Program Critical Thinking
. Thin Red Line, Terrence Malick (1998) . Dogville, Lars Von Trier (2003) . The Boss of it All, Lars Von Trier (2006) . Certified Copy, Abbas Kiarostami (2010) Painting references used in class: . Lucia, Minerva and Europa Anguissola Playing Chess, Sofonisba Anguissola (1555) . Self‐ Portrait, Sofonisba Anguissola (1556) . Infanta Catalina Micaela, Sofonisba Anguissola or El Greco (1580) . selected street art, Banksy . The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli (1486) . House at l‘Estaque, Georges Braque (1908) . The Parable of the Sower, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1557) . Narcissus, Caravaggio(1597‐99) . Saint Matthew, Caravaggio (1602) . The Cellist, Marc Chagall (1939) . Still Life, Paul Cézanne (1879‐82) . Apples and Oranges, Paul Cézanne (1889) . Man with a Pipe, Gustave Courbet (1849) . A Burial at Ornans, Gustave Courbet (1850) . The Wounded Man, Gustave Courbet (1854) . The Artist’s Studio, Gustave Courbet (1855) . The Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci (1495‐98) . The Death of Socrates, Jacques‐Louis David (1787) . The Song of Love, Giorgio di Chirico (1914) . Nude Descending a Staircase, Marcel Duchamp (1912) . Fountain, Marcel Duchamp (1917) . Mirabeau Answering Dreux‐Brézé, Alexandre Fragonard (1830) . Interior With Hand Mirror (Self‐Portrait), Lucian Freud (1967) . Reflection (Self‐Portrait), Lucian Freud (1985) . Queen Elizabeth II, Lucian Freud (2001) . Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, Lucian Freud (1995) . The Sower, Vincent Van Gogh (1888) . Saint‐Rémy ‐ Road with Cypress and Star, Vincent Van Gogh (1890) . Wheatfield With Crows, Vincent van Gogh (1890) . Charles IV on Horseback, Francisco de Goya (1800) . Group on a Balcony, Goya (1810‐15) . Ferdinand VII of Spain, Goya (1814) . The Shootings of May 3rd 1808, Goya (1814) . Self‐Portrait, Goya (1815) . The Giant, Goya (1818) . Saturn Devouring His Son, Goya (1819‐23) . The Repentent Magdalene, El Greco (1577) . Early Sunday Morning, Edward Hopper (1930) . Nighthawks, Edward Hopper (1942) . Oedipus and the Sphinx, Jean‐August‐Dominique Ingres (1808) . Cossacks, Wassilly Kandinsky (1912) . Portrait of Adele Bloch‐Bauer I, Gustav Klimt (1907)
International Summer Program
Critical Thinking
. The Kiss, Gustave Klimt (1908) . Gran Vía, Antonio López (1974‐81) . Madrid desde Torres Blancas, Antonio López (1976‐82) Painting references used in class (continued): . Attempting the Impossible, René Magritte (1928) . The Treachery of Images, René Magritte (1929) . La Clairvoyance, Rene Magritte (1936) . Black Square, Kazimir Malevic (1915) . Sportsmen, Kazimir Malevic(1928‐30) . Olympia, Eduard Manet (1863) . Execution of Maximilian of Mexico, Edouard Manet (1868) . The Balcony, Edouard Manet (1868‐69) . Monet Working on His Boat, Edouard Manet (1874) . The Red Studio, Henri Matisse (1911) . Dance, Henri Matisse (1910) . Interior with a Bowl with Red Fish, Henri Matisse (1914) . The Creation of Adam, Michelangelo (1508‐12) . The Dying Slave, Michelangelo (1513) . The Sower, Jean‐François Millet (1850) . Nude Sitting on a Divan, Amedeo Modigliani (1917) . Girl With Braids, Amedeo Modigliani (1918) . Impression, Sunrise, Claude Monet (1872) . The Scream, Edvard Munch (1893) . Love and Pain, Edvard Munch (1893‐94) . The Prophet, Emil Nolde (1912) . Girl With Pigeon, Pablo Picasso (1901) . Boy Leading Horse, Pablo Picasso (1906) .D Daniel‐Henry Kahnweiler, Pablo Picasso (1910) . Dove With Green Peas, Pablo Picasso (1912) . Self‐Portrait Facing Death, Pablo Picasso (1972) . Autumn Rhythm, Jackson Pollock (1950) . One (number 31, 1950), Jackson Pollock (1950) . Easter and Totem, Jackson Pollock (1953) . Search, Jackson Pollock (1955) . Self‐Portrait as a Young Man, Rembrandt (1628) . Bathsheba, Rembrandt (1654) . Self‐Portrait at an Easel, Rembrandt (1669) . Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, Pierre August Renoir (1876) . Chained Prometheus, Peter Paul Rubens (1612) . Saturn Devouring His Son, Peter Paul Rubens (1636) . Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose, Mark Rothko (1950) . Homage to Matisse, Mark Rothko (1954) . Seagram Murals, Mark Rothko (1959) . Rain Steam and Speed. Joseph Mallord William Turner (1844) . The Water‐seller of Seville, Velázquez (1620) . Portrait of Juan the Pumkin, Velázquez (1637‐39) . The Jester Don Diego de Acedo, Velázquez (1645)
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Critical Thinking
. Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, Jan Vermeer (1659) . View of Delft, Jan Vermeer (1661) . cave paintings in Lascaux (France) and Altamira (Spain)
International Summer Program