12852 - History of Christendom (1)

Learning outcomes

Students will get the adequate knowledge to frame early Christianity in its diverse historical, geographical, and cultural contexts, and will know its main sources and events; they will get the skills to approach the historical study of Christianity, by applying the appropriate methods of analysis.

Course contents

The course aims to provide an introduction to the history of Christian origins, with a focus on the first two centuries, showing their dynamic and multifaceted character and the relationships of Christianity with its diverse historical and geographical contexts. Through the study of the texts and the historical events that emerge from them, we will reconstruct the transition from the activity of Jesus to the transmission and reinterpretation of his words and deeds made, in different ways, by the various groups of his followers, to show the processes that, towards the end of the second century CE, mark a turning point, representing the basis of the so-called “proto-orthodoxy.” The course will provide some fundamental methodological coordinates for the study of the history of Christianity.

Topics will include the definition of the historical relationship between Christianity and Judaism; the analysis of the gospels, apocalypses, and other early Christian texts; doctrines and practices of the main early Christian groups; how the New Testament canon arose; what the “apocrypha” are; how and when the distinction between “heresy” and “orthodoxy” arose; and the origin and nature of Gnosticism.

 

The course will start on March 20, 2023.

Readings/Bibliography

I) Exam bibliography:

1) A. Annese, F. Berno, M. Fallica, M. Mantovani, Le origini cristiane. Testi e autori (secoli I-II), Carocci, Roma 2021 (in its entirety).

2) E. Prinzivalli (ed.), Storia del cristianesimo. I. L’età antica (secoli I-VII), Carocci, Roma 2015 (or reprints), only pp. 15-218.

Non-attending students will add one of the following volumes:

- E. Norelli, La nascita del cristianesimo, il Mulino, Bologna 2014.

- M. Pesce, Gesù e i suoi seguaci. Identità e differenze, Morcelliana, Brescia 2020.

 

It is strongly recommended for every student (attending or not) to be equipped with a Bible (or at least a New Testament) in Italian translation, in paper or digital format. Any modern translation you already have is fine; for those who do not already have one, we recommend the Bibbia di Gerusalemme (EDB) or the Bibbia Tabor (Ed. San Paolo).

 

II) Here is a selection of (non-obligatory) texts which are helpful for further study:

- R. Aguirre, Dal movimento di Gesù alla Chiesa cristiana, Borla, Roma 2005.

- A. Annese, Il Vangelo di Tommaso. Introduzione storico-critica, Carocci, Roma 2019.

- A. Destro, M. Pesce, Antropologia delle origini cristiane, Laterza, Roma – Bari 2008 (1995).

- H.Y. Gamble, Libri e lettori nella chiesa antica. Storia dei primi testi cristiani, Paideia, Brescia 2006.

- S.A. Harvey, D.G. Hunter (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Studies, Oxford UP, Oxford – New York 2008.

- H. Koester, Ancient Christian Gospels: Their History and Development, SCM, London 1990.

- G. Lettieri, Fiat Verbum, Fiat Lux. Il Prologo giovanneo come ritrattazione protologica del battesimo di Gesù e presentazione dell’incarnazione al Giordano, in S. Lavecchia (a cura di), Immagini della luce. Dimensioni di una metafora assoluta, Mimesis, Milano – Udine 2019, pp. 123-249.

- Ch. Markschies, Il cristianesimo antico, Claudiana, Torino 2021.

- C. Moreschini, E. Norelli, Storia della letteratura cristiana antica greca e latina. I. Da Paolo all’età costantiniana. Nuova edizione riveduta e ampliata, Morcelliana, Brescia 2019.

- R. Penna (a cura di), Le origini del cristianesimo. Una guida, Terza ed., Carocci, Roma 2018.

- M. Pesce, Da Gesù al cristianesimo, Morcelliana, Brescia 2011.

- G. Rinaldi, Cristianesimi nell’antichità. Sviluppi storici e contesti geografici (Secoli I-VIII), GBU, Chieti – Roma 2008.

Teaching methods

Taught class; historical-critical analysis of sources; use of images and PowerPoint presentations (with maps, reproductions of manuscripts, etc.).

Assessment methods

Oral exam based on the subjects of the course and the books required. Students will be examined on their command of the specific vocabulary; on their knowledge of the topics of the course; on their ability to present clearly what has been learned; on their degree of acquisition of the methodological skills necessary for the study of ancient Christianity, illustrated during the course; on their ability to analyze problems and sources. Final Grade:

- knowledge of a very limited number of topics covered in the course, analytical skills that emerge only with the help of the teacher, poor command of vocabulary, poor clarity of exposition, methodological principles acquired in a barely sufficient way: grade 18-19;

- knowledge of a limited number of topics covered in the course, capacity for independent analysis little more than sufficient, sufficient command of vocabulary, fair clarity of exposition, methodological principles acquired at a fair level: grade 20-24;

- knowledge of a large number of topics covered in the course, ability to make independent choices of critical analysis, good command of specific terminology, good clarity of exposition, good competence in the methodological principles of the discipline: grade 25-29;

- very thorough knowledge of the topics covered in the course, excellent ability to make autonomous choices of critical analysis and logical connection, full command of specific terminology and excellent argumentation skills, high familiarity with the methodological principles of the discipline: grade 30-30L.

Teaching tools

Images, PowerPoint presentations, handouts with texts prepared by the teacher (uploaded on Virtuale).

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Annese