Cross-faculty elective subjects WS 2017/2018

The course will deepen and enrich your enjoyment and understanding of art through engagement with some of the key theories and approaches that art historians have developed for interpreting and explaining works of art.

• Learn about Art Periods
• Get to know the highlights of European art from the 15th to the 21st century
• Explore fascinating questions about works of art, their function in society, their various meanings for viewers of the past and of the present
• Meet works of art within their social and cultural context
• Learn about methods used by art historians to analyse, interpret and explain works of art: Biographical approach, socio-economic/cultural approach, sociological approach, Iconographic approach, semiotics, gendered approach…..
• Special focus on social history of art

Das Seminar versteht sich als eine Einführung in die verschiedenen Forschungsbereiche und aktuellen Forschungsansätze der Computerspielforschung.
Ausgehend von der Frage "Was ist das Computerspiel?" wird im Seminar zunächst der sehr weite Begriff des "Spiels" und seine Rolle in der Kultur untersucht, um dann die zentralen Themenfelder der Game Studies zu beleuchten. Im Laufe des Seminars sollen Studierende zu einem besseren Verständnis der Begriffe "Spiel" und "Spielen" gelangen, den sozial-kulturellen Wert der Computerspiele kennen lernen und verstehen sowie mögliche Prognosen für die Zukunft, u.a. bezüglich Ludifizierung des Alltags oder Augmented Reality, aufstellen und diskutieren.

Alle Menschen wollen glücklich sein. Jedoch: Was ist das - Glück? Welche Dinge machen Menschen glücklich? Wie wichtig sind Beziehungen für unser Glück? Braucht ein Leben einen Sinn um ein wahrhaft glückliches Leben zu sein? Was haben Charakterstärken mit Glück zu tun? Welche Arbeiten machen glücklich? Wie hängen Geld und Glück zusammen? Dieser Grundkurs will klare Anworten auf diese und weitere Fragen geben, indem er grundlegende Konzepte und empirische Erkenntnisse aus der Positiven Psychologie vermittelt. Ergänzend und vertiefend gibt es Exkurse in verwandte Fachdisziplinen (z.B. Philosophie der Lebenskunst, Arbeitssoziologie).

Der Kurs bietet eine bunte Mischung aus theoretischen Reflexionen und praktischen Übungen. Zu letzteren zählen etwa die Positiven Psychologischen Interventionen (PPIs), die nachweislich die Lebenszufriedenheit steigern.

Since 9/11 Islam is continuously analyzed and criticized in the Media. Most of the coverage is biased and inaccurate. However, some newspapers, scholars or politicians try to show that Islam is something "new" and unknown in Europe. An eye-catching message of rightwing politicians or racist groups is a) Islam is a new Religion inside the borders of Europe; and b) Islam is incompatible with the political and moral values of Europe.

The lecture will discuss the media constructions of Islam and Muslims in Europe and it will provide an introduction to Islam in general. We will also focus on the Islamic prophetic tradition, the Quran as well as the Shariah law. The main part of the course will focus on the history of Islam in Europe from the late 19th to the 20th century.

Life shows that on the long-run personality often makes the difference to be successful both in business and your private life. That's why having a better understanding about yourself and managing your personal resources is crucial. In this module we focus on the three elements Mindset, Brain and Body and enable you with knowledge and self-experience to high perform on the long run.

The Liechtenstein Academy Foundation elaborated a unique offer together with three external lecturers that cover the following main topics:
1) Purpose & Mindset: Why is purpose and mindset so crucial for success in professional and personal life?
2) Brain: Do you know how your brain actually works and how you can positively influence your brain performance?
3) Body Resources: Are aware of the power that lays within a conscious management of your body resources?

This course looks at a wide range of philosophical topics that deal with human relations to the world from an ethical perspective. Those relations concern here in particular: the environment, art, political authority, and culture. Hence, topics touch on mainly:

- Environmental ethics (What are the moral status and value of environment? Do we have obligations to preserve nature? If yes, how are those obligations to be formulated? What are the principles of and arguments for sustainability?)

- Aesthetics (What is art? What is a work of art? What is an aesthetic experience? Can/should art be evaluated through moral standards?)

- Political Ethics (What is a state? What are the philosophical justifications for the state? What makes states legitimate? What is democracy? How to justify citizen's duties to obey and state's right to coerce?)

- Ethics of Culture (What is culture? How does culture participate in the individual's identity? Is the individual determined throughout by culture? Are values relative or universal? What is intercultural dialogue?)

Our focus will be on cornerstone philosophical theories and insights that are useful for understanding not only our relations to the world, but also our obligations and responsibility. To achieve that we'll engage with great philosophers and assess their arguments against the background of topical and concrete questions that we are confronted with in our daily lives.
Challenging reading materials will help access deep philosophical insights that are needed to understand complex moral and socio-political issues.

NB:
This course is meant to bring forth the relevance of a philosophical thinking in matters that concern our everyday practical lives. By investigating the foundations of the above-mentioned issues, we'll be better equipped to understand the world around us and formulate personal, clear and well-articulated answers and opinions about matters that concern us all.

Social innovation is about the various ways in which people are creating new and more effective answers to the biggest challenges of our times such as climate change, poverty, migration and food security. Social innovations can be defined as concepts and ideas that meet societal needs through re-thinking social relationships and collaborations. These innovations can be products, services or models. Co-working spaces, (skill-, tool-) sharing platforms, repair cafés and community-supported agriculture projects are some examples of existing social innovations. Generally, social innovations contribute to a more just and sustainable society. This course examines the potentials of social innovation in Liechtenstein. Based on a theoretical foundation, new impulses for selected local initiatives will be developed.

Diese Einführung in philosophisches Denken findet in Auseinandersetzung mit drei ausgewählten Theateraufführungen statt. Theater und Philosophie beschäftigen sich beide mit dem Menschen. Wer sind wir und wenn ja wie viele? Oder wenn nein: warum eigentlich nicht? Unsere Identität steht nie ein für alle Mal fest. Wir sind "self-interpreting animals" (Charles Taylor), die immer neu vor der Aufgabe stehen, sich selbst zu bestimmen: Welche Gesetze geben wir uns? Gibt es Werte, die nicht verhandelt werden können? Was bedeutet es, das eigene Selbst zu sein und wie können wir überhaupt zusammen leben?
Im Seminar machen wir das Experiment, Philosophie und Theater mit einander ins Gespräch zu bringen. Wir lesen kritisch einige prominente Texte der gegenwärtigen Philosophie und diskutieren grundlegende Begriffe wie Individualität, Identität, Werte und Gesellschaft. Unsere philosophischen Diskussionen konfrontieren wir mit drei ausgewählten Theateraufführungen, in denen menschliches Sein buchstäblich auf dem Spiel steht.
Jan Sellke, Chefdramaturg des TAK, wird ausgewählte Sitzungen als Gast begleiten.

Among the multifarious transformation processes that can presently be observed worldwide, there is probably hardly any phenomenon that is as momentous as the one having to do with questions of 'security'. The so-called 'war against terrorism 'and the boundary-drawing reactions against refugee movements to Europe are just two examples for the increasing thematization of threat scenarios against which security measures are said to be necessary. Against the backdrop of readings of classical texts on 'cultures of fear', 'security' and 'surveillance', the course deals with a broad variety of empirical examples of security practices, in so doing, putting particular emphasis on what has been called 'securitization' - that is, acts which declare an issue to be a 'security issue', thus (allegedly) putting it outside of the political realm. Two of the topics that will also be dealt with extensively is (a) the commodification of security provision in the form of private security companies and (b) the spatial, technological and architectural aspects of security measures.

What shapes our attitudes? Why are some people such great leaders? What leads us to like one person and dislike another? How do conflicts and prejudices develop, and how can they be reduced? These are just a few of the questions examined in the field of social psychology. This course looks at a wide range of social topics, including group behavior, social perception, leadership, nonverbal behavior, conformity, aggression, decision making, prejudice, and factors that promote health and well-being.

Our focus will be on surprising, entertaining, and intriguing concepts and research findings that are useful and applicable in our daily lives. Exercises and assignments in class and in home study will encourage you to experiment with your life, observe the results, and analyze what took place.

Viele Unternehmen versuchen derzeit verstärkt ein Umfeld zu schaffen, das Kreativität und damit Innovation fördert. Dafür brauchen sie die geeigneten Mitarbeitende, die fähig sind, kreative Konzepte abseits gewohnter Bahnen zu entwickeln, zu experimentieren, Fehler zuzulassen und vermeintliche Utopien Wirklichkeit werden zu lassen.
Diese zunächst "utopischen" Ideen werden ernstgenommen, positiv weitergetrieben und im besten Fall verwirklicht.
Dort setzt dieser Kurs an:
Wir werden in Gruppen gezielte spielerische Experimente machen (u.a. mit selbstgebauten Zufallsgeneratoren) und uns so unsere eigene unerwartete Aufgabenstellung erschaffen. Ausgehend von dieser ungewohnten Inspiration werden wir neue Produkte, Geschäftsideen und Storytelling-Konzepte entwickeln. Es wird frei gedacht und möglichst Ungewöhnliches erschaffen werden.
Das Spiel ist dabei ein wichtiger Teil des Prozesses, denn so lösen wir unsere kreativen Blockaden und erkunden unbekannte Gebiete. Eine effektive Analyse-Methode ermöglicht uns im zweiten Schritt, Ideen zu konkretisieren und sie nachvollziehbar zu visualisieren.
Zum Ende des Kurses wird jeder Teilnehmer und jede Teilnehmerin seinen eigenen kreativen Prozess in Form einer Dokumentation reflektieren und transparent machen.

The main aim of this course is to examine the issue of terrorism by addressing the following questions:

• What is a terrorist, and how should terrorism be defined?
• How can we distinguish nationalist, ideological and religious terrorism from each other?
• What do terrorists want?
• What is the policy of the United Nations toward terrorism?