Catalan philosopher and writer Marina Garcés delivers lecture at event to mark start of academic year 2018–2019 at UPC
The 2018–2019 academic year inauguration ceremony was held on Friday, 21 September in the auditorium of the Vèrtex building on the UPC’s North Campus in Barcelona. Philosopher and writer Marina Garcés (Barcelona, 1973) delivered an inaugural lecture entitled “From knowledge production to ignorance production”. Garcés’s work focuses on politics, critical thinking, and the need to articulate a philosophical voice that is capable of raising questions and generating engagement.
Sep 28, 2018
The rector of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Francesc Torres, acted as master of ceremonies for the event, which included the participation of Maria Àngels Chacón i Feixas, Minister of Business and Knowledge of the Government of Catalonia, and Ramon Carbonell, chair of the University’s Board of Trustees. The UPC’s general secretary, Marta de Blas, also spoke at the event, introducing the University’s Report on the Academic Year 2017–2018.
As in previous years, members of the UPC community who won awards in 2017 were recognised, and two awards given in 2018 by the Board of Trustees and the University – the Duran Farell Technological Research Award and the UPC Award for Quality in University Teaching – were presented. The prize for the UPC Folder Design Competition was also presented.
The event featured performances by the Mediterranean Technology Park Choir, the Barcelona School of Architecture Choir, the Ol·lari Choir of the School of Mathematics and Statistics (FME), the Gaudeamus Choir of the Barcelona East School of Engineering (EEBE), and the UPC Orchestra.
Founder of Espai en Blanc
Marina Garcés studied philosophy at the University of Barcelona and was awarded a doctoral degree in 2001 for a thesis entitled “Las prisiones de lo posible” (“Prisons of the possible”). She is currently an associate professor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts of the University of Zaragoza. In addition to teaching, Garcés promotes critical and experimental thinking within the framework of the Espai en Blanc collective, which she founded in 2002.
She is the author or co-author of various books and many articles on philosophy, art, culture and thought, and has presented papers at international conferences. One of her most recent books, published this year, is Ciutat princesa (Galaxia Gutenberg). She has collaborated with other universities, including the Open University of Catalonia, the Pompeu Fabra University and the University of Girona, on various master’s courses. Garcés has been a member of the faculty of the Independent Studies Programme of the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) since 2016 and directs the Aula Oberta (“Open Classroom”) of the Humanities Institute of the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB).
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