42571 - Introduction to Religion Studies

Course contents

I part

Theories of religion. The classical literature

This section of the course aims to present some of the most outstanding theories of religion that were elaborated between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. Students will be introduced to the works of E.B. Tylor, Roberston Smith, J.G. Frazer. Furthermore, in-depth analysis of the writings of E. Durheim, Max Weber, William James, and Sigmund Freud will be pursued.

Students will become accustomed with the most important works which contributed to define a set of concepts in the study of religion, such as sacred/profane, myth,  ritual, religion, mysticism, conversion, purity/impurity, totem/taboo. These works provide the students with a better understanding of the rise of modernity and the relationship with 'religion'.

The introduction to the main theories will allow for a brief discussion of recent trends in the study of religion, with special emphasis on cognitive studies of religion.

II section

Judaism and Christianity: from the origins to the modern world

The second section focuses on the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. We will analyze how these two religions were entangled and how they developed in the course of history, focusing on the rise of Antisemitism and the Holocaust. We will then analyze how the Church and the rise of the state of Israel modified this relationship. 

Readings/Bibliography

Students are expected to work with Italian translations.

Studenti frequentanti

Obbligatori

Powerpoint lezioni in materiali didattici

Christopher Bayly, La nascita del mondo moderno. 1780-1914, Einaudi, Torino, 2009 (Capitolo "Gli imperi della religione").

Cristiana Facchini, Religioni ed età contemporanea, in Manuale di storia contemporanea, a cura di P. Pombeni e S. Cavazza, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2012, pp.

Cristiana Facchini Voci dell’ebraismo liberale. Costruire una religione moderna, in Ebraismo, a cura di D. Bidussa, Religioni e società moderna, 2, a c. di G. Filoramo, Einaudi, Torino, 2008, pp. 171-196

Filosofie del mito, a cura di Giovanni Leghissa, Enrico Manera, Carocci, Roma, 2015 (Saggi su Eliade, Frazer, Freud/Jung, Malinowski, Durkheim/Mauss, Pettazzoni, Wittgenstein)

Tutti i testi si trovano tra i materiali didattici

1. Un testo a scelta tra i classici (per intero)

W. James, Le varie forme dell'esperienza religiosa, Morcelliana, Brescia, 1998 (ed. originale 1905)

E. Durkheim, Le forme elementari della vita religiosa, Meltemi, Roma, 2005.

S. Freud, Totem e tabù, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, 1980.

M. Weber, Sociologia della religione, vol. 1. L'etica protestante e lo spirito del capitalismo.

Studenti non frequentanti

Powerpoint lezioni in materiali didattici

G. Filoramo, Che cos'è la religione, Einaudi, Torino, 2005

P. Boyer, E l'uomo creò gli dei: come spiegare la religione, Odoya, Bologna, 2010

1. Un testo a scelta tra i classici (per intero)

W. James, Le varie forme dell'esperienza religiosa, Morcelliana, Brescia, 1998 (ed. originale 1905)

E. Durkheim, Le forme elementari della vita religiosa, Meltemi, Roma, 2005.

S. Freud, Totem e tabù, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, 1980.

M. Weber, Sociologia della religione, vol. 1. L'etica protestante e lo spirito del capitalismo.

Saranno disponibili anche Appunti del I e II modulo tra i Materiali didattici, scaricabili da studenti frequentanti e non frequentanti.

Teaching methods

Lectures

Text analysis 

Students' presentation of texts 

Visual aid

Documentaries and films

Assessment methods

Both students who are attending and not attending class will have to take a written exam. Students must answer 5 questions out of 10. 

Grading criteria will be assigned according to the following evaluation levels:

30/30L will be awarded to students who will be able to display an  excellent knowledge of the topics, and to articulate answers and establish connections among the different themes;

28-29 will be awarded to students displaying a very good knowledge of the topics, and to to establish appropriate connections among them;

26-27: will be awarded to students displaying a good and appropriate knowledge of the topics, and to establish appropriate connections among them;

22-25: will be awarded to students displaying essential knowledge of the topics, and poor capabilities to establish connections among the different themes.  

20-21: will be awarded to students with sufficient and poorly articulated knowledge of the topics;

INS-19: Insufficient or very incomplete knowledge of the topics, lack of orientation in the discipline.

Teaching tools

Films

Documentaries

Visual aid

Powerpoint

Office hours

See the website of Cristiana Facchini