93619 - CRISTIANESIMI

Learning outcomes

The course provides the foundations for a historical and anthropological knowledge of Christian communities and denominations in their multiple relationships with the main religious cultures of the Mediterranean from late antiquity to the contemporary age. The student, at the end of the course, possesses the methodological tools for the adequate critical evaluation of the theological and sociological issues that still today invest the relationships between Christian communities, doctrines, mentalities and institutions with the movements, ideologies, political bodies and economic-social dynamics of the Mediterranean basin.

Course contents

The course will have a seminar character and will be devoted to the theme: God and the Gods: Christianity and Cosmologies between the Ancient and Modern Worlds

Readings/Bibliography

A) Handbooks:

All students (attending or not) are required to know one of the following books:

G. Filoramo (a cura di), Cristianesimo, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2004

G. L. Potestà - G. Vian, Storia del cristianesimo, n. ed. Bologna, il Mulino, 2014

R. Rusconi, Storia del cristianesimo e delle Chiese. Dalle origini ai giorni nostri, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2019

 

B) Studies related to the course topic:

J. Assmann, La distinzione mosaica ovvero il prezzo del monoteismo (2003), trad. it. a cura di A. Vigliani, Milano, Adelphi, 2011

M. Augé, Genio del paganesimo (1982), trad. it. a cura di U. Fabietti, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2002 (rist. 2008)

C. Bernand - S. Gruzinski, Dell'idolatria. Un'archeologia delle scienze religiose (1988), trad. it. a cura di D. Sacchi, Torino, EInaudi, 1995

Ph. Borgeaud, La pensée européenne des religions, Paris, Seuil, 2021

G. Filoramo, Ipotesi Dio. Il divino come idea necessaria, Bologna, il Mulino, 2016

A. Funkenstein, Teologia e immaginazione scientifica dal Medioevo al Seicento (1986), trad. it. a cura di A. Serafini, Torino, Einaudi, 1996

M. Gauchet, Il disincanto del mondo. Una storia politica della religione (1985), trad. it. a cura di A. Comba, Torino, EInaudi, 1992

C. Ginzburg, La lettera uccide, Milano, Adelphi, 2021

T. Gregory, Speculum naturale. Percorsi del pensiero medievale, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2007

P. Hazard, La crisi della coscienza europea (1935), trad. it. a cura di P. Serini, Torino, Einaudi, 1946 (rist. Milano. UTET, 2019)

G. Stroumsa, Religions d'Abraham. Histoires croisées, Genève, Labor et Fides, 2017

M. Zambon, «Nessun dio è mai sceso quaggiù». La polemica anticristiana dei filosofi antichi, Roma, Carocci, 2019

Teaching methods

The traditional lecture format will be supported by texts and images, which will be shown and made available online to students on the Virtual Learning Environment of the University website.

Students who are affected by learning disability (DSA) and in need of special strategies to compensate it, are kindly requested to contact the Teacher, in order to be referred to the colleagues in charge and get proper advice and instructions.

Assessment methods

For attending students:

At least ten days before the oral examination, students are required to present a final paper (max 5000 words) on a topic defined together with the lecturer. The paper may be sent by e-mail and must comply with the editorial criteria indicated on the Virtuale Course Page.

The evaluation of the paper will constitute the starting point for the oral examination that will assess:

- basic knowledge of the course program;

- the ability to understand the problems faced during the lectures;

- the ability to frame the sources examined in class in their context, and to discuss them critically;

- the quality of oral expression and the ability to construct a logical-argumentative type of speech.

In addition to the discussion of the paper presented, the examination will check the knowledge acquired during the course.

For non-attending students: all those who cannot attend the course are required to agree their syllabus in advance by contacting the lecturer via email or during the office hours.

To apply for the thesis, it is highly recommended to register on the website and take part in the workshops of the Laboratorio sulle fonti per la ricerca storica organised by Prof. Donatella Tronca.

As the timeframe for drafting a thesis needs to be carefully calculated, arrangements should be made with the lecturer well in advance: at least six months for a three-year degree. The most appropriate graduation session will be suggested by the lecturer on the basis of the work done.

The final evaluation will follow these criteria:

- insufficient grade: lack of basic knowledge and inability to produce a correct interpretation of the texts and / or problems;

- sufficient grade: possession of basic knowledge; mainly correct interpretation, but carried out with imprecision and little autonomy;

- good grade: possession of intermediate level knowledge; fully correct interpretation, but not always precise and autonomous;

- excellent grade: possession of high level knowledge; interpretation of problems not only correct but conducted with autonomy and precision. Excellent oral expression skills.

 

Teaching tools

The main teaching support tools, which will be illustrated in class and on the Virtuale course page, are available at the Campus Central Library (Palazzo Corradini) and at the website AlmaRe - the Library of Bibliographic and Documentary Electronic Resources of the University of Bologna.

Office hours

See the website of Luigi Canetti