Under the title “La banalidad como misterio” the new edition will be celebrated for three consecutive Thursdays (February 16 and 23 and March, 2) at the historic building of the Universitat. All the conferences will take place at 19:00 at the Aula Magna. Free entry.

The painter and writer Manuel Baixauli will inaugurate the cycle on February, 16 with the conference “Hard Way” in which he will talk about the existing relationship between the scientific progress and the trivialisation of art. The debate will focus on the possibilities and threats that new technologies offer in this field because while the TIC contribute to spread and democratise the culture, they also clear the way to its spectacular and easy use.  

The literary work of Baixauli includes “Espiral”, a book of stories and micro-stories, published on 1998 and subsequently three novels: “Verso”, “L’home manuscrit” and “La cinquena planta”; and a collection of articles under the title “Ningú no ens espera”, illustrated by the artist himself. His literary production has received numerous awards (Town of Alzira Novel Prize, Town of Mallorca literary creation Prize, Premios de la Crítica Narrativa by the Asociación Española de Críticos Literarios and Joan Crexells narrative Awards).  

The cycle will continue on February, 23 with lecturer of Aesthetics and Theory at the University of Murcia, Salvador Rubio, who will analyse the value of trivial in his conference “Now and here” which is based on the epistolary exchange between J. M. Coetzee and Paul Auster (“Now and here”, 2012).

Finally, on March 2, the lecturer of the Department of Language and Department of Language and Literature Teaching at the Universitat de Barcelona, Laura Borràs, will talk about the cultural habits and the challenges for language in an interconnected world with a presentation entitled: “Reading today: networks and devices. Vain or banal?”

Josep Lluís Blasco Estellés Chair for Philosophy and Citizenship (www.catedrablasco.cat) has as purpose to form a forum in which the two highest vocations of Josep Lluís Blasco, the philosophical vocation and civic one, find a common space. It involves moving philosophy closer to citizens by subjecting social urgent problems to reflection of philosophers and thinkers and pass on this reflection to society.  Along the year conferences, round tables, monographic courses with the participation of eminent people in philosophical and social reflection, as well as their publication are programmed 

Office of the Vice-Principal for International Relations and Cooperation, La Nau Cultural Centre, Alfons el Magnànim Institution, Faculty of Philosophy and Education Sciences, Societat de Filosofía del País Valencià and Department of Philosophy of Universitat de València.