21st-century Mythologies

Traditional Western culture has undergone a long process of rewriting its canonical history since the 1950s. The foundations that explained its past, as well as its encouraging present and foreseeable future, were subjected to strict academic re-readings and reconsiderations. These reappraisals were approached from various fields of knowledge, such as anthropology, philosophy, art, politics, history, sociology, and science, and announced and called for the end of modernity, an aging era to be followed by a new, incipient, and unpredictable age.   Today, in the twenty-first century, in an unstable reality dominated by uncertainty and bewilderment, forms, spaces, products, theories, and schools of thought are emerging, among which other categories such as peripheral, subaltern, or postcolonial are gaining ground.   Are there contradictions between the concept of a technological and sustainable city and a shared aspiration to slow living? Is there tension between conventional video game narratives, their relationship with art, and the development of collaborative narratives? Where do the boundaries of desire and love lie in the global digital sphere? Does the success of television series bring new narrative paradigms? 21st-century mythologies analyse these issues from different fields of knowledge, with the help of specialists, in order to identify theoretical foundations, question historical contradictions, and point out the cultural and symbolic configuration of today’s globalised world.

Online course organised in collaboration with Fundación General de la Universidad de Málaga.

Lectures

Diagnósticos filosóficos de modos y prácticas culturales del siglo XXI (Philosophical diagnoses of 21st-century cultural modes and practices)
Alain Badiou. Philosopher, playwright and novelist.
Ernesto Castro. Philosopher and writer.
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Hábitat: semiótica de la vivienda en la era digital y la crisis climática (Habitat: semiotics of housing in the digital age and the climate crisis)
Vicente Guallart. Architect.
Núria Moliner. Architect and communicator.
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Homo ludens. Ocio y juego. los videojuegos (‘Homo ludens’. Leisure and play, videogames)
Eurídice Cabañes. Philosopher.
Alberto Oliván. Narrative designer.
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Alimentarse: los rituales del comer como experimento social (Feeding ourselves: eating rituals as a social experiment)
Jesús Contreras. Professor emeritus of Social Anthropology.
Gabriel Bartra. Culinary researcher.
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Deseo y miedo: la desaparición del amor. Pornografía y robótica (Desire and fear: the disappearance of love. Pornography and robotics)
Kate Devlin. Lecturer in Social Artificial Intelligence.
Jordi Vallverdú. Philosopher
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Novela de aventuras: las series como nuevo universo fílmico (Adventure novel: series as a new film universe)
Concepción Cascajosa. Lecturer in journalism and audiovisual communication.
Jorge Carrión. Writer.
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