Christianity and religions

The course aims to provide the necessary tools to address methodological problems through advanced historical and historiographical knowledge necessary to acquire critical comparative skills of different religious contexts

In addition to lectures, the course includes seminars for critical reading of sources and studies.

Basic historical knowledge.

Optional, in presence.

According to the Dublin descriptors, students, at the end of the course, will demonstrate:

1) knowledge and understanding skills such as to reinforce those achieved in the first cycle; ability to elaborate and / or apply original ideas, in a research context.

2) ability to apply knowledge and understanding and ability to solve problems to new or unfamiliar issues, inserted in broader (or interdisciplinary) contexts connected to one's field of study;

3) ability to integrate knowledge and to formulate judgments on the basis of information that is not necessarily complete;

4) ability to communicate one's knowledge clearly and unambiguously to specialist and non-specialist interlocutors.

5) ability to carry out research autonomously.

The course proposes a path through the history of critical studies in religious-historical matters: from the birth of mythology to comparative studies in the history of religions.  Special attention will be given to the religious history of the ancient and late antique Mediterranean: from Judaism to Islam (mod. A). An in-depth study will cover the study of the discourses of Paul of Tarsus in the Acts of the Apostles, read and commented in the original language (mod. B).

A. History and Method (4 ECTS):

Books:

-       R. Barcellona, La conoscenza e l’ignoranza delle religioni degli altri. L'Italia, la scuola e l'università, in una prospettiva europea, «Siculorum Gymnasium. A Journal for the Humanities» 69/2 (2017), pp. 209-231.

-       G. Filoramo-M. Massenzio-M. Raveri-P. Scarpi, Manuale di storia delle religioni, Bari 1998, pp. 1-137; 173-287; 439-549.

-       G. Sfameni Gasparro, Introduzione alla storia delle religioni, Bari, Laterza 2011, pp. 231.

B. Paul's speeches: rhetoric and religious experience compared (2 ECTS):

Book:

-       Atti degli apostoli, introduzione, traduzione e commento di G. Rossè, San Paolo, Cinisello Balsamo 2010, pp. 320.

-       Reading of the texts in the original language with commentary and deepening workshops. Any supplementary study materials will be provided during the lectures and uploaded on the Studium platform.

Coursework test: written questionnaire or, depending on the number of students, seminar activity on topics related to module A (optional). The correction will be subject to discussion and the results will be announced during class or reception hours. The grade will be expressed in thirtieths and will remain valid for one calendar year. The in itinere test is a tool for verifying the degree of learning achieved but above all the effectiveness of the study method adopted. For this reason, the in itinere tests will be taken into account in the definition of the final grade at the students' discretion.

Final oral examination on module B (on modules A and B for those who have not taken the in itinere examination).

The in itinere test (in agreement with the student) will be taken into account for the final examination grade in a proportional, but not strictly mathematical manner. In the assessment of the oral examination, not only knowledge of the fundamental content will be taken into account, but also mastery of historiographical questions, lexical property and critical and argumentative ability.

     Overview of the history of a concept: the term religio

- Religions of the ancient world: polytheisms

- Three monotheisms compared: Judaism, Christianity, Islam

- The speeches of Paul of Tarsus and the religious experiences of his audience