82240 - Methodologies of Religious Studies (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, students are familiar with the main theoretical, methodological and technical tools of the historical-religious disciplines and of ethnographic research that deal with the study of religions, religious phenomena and dynamics in local and global socio-cultural contexts, with particular attention to identifying connections, developments, persistence and transformations of religious phenomena and socio-political implications of the interaction between groups in complex societies. They are able to apply anthropological knowledge to critically promote the value of religious differences and religious pluralism. They update their knowledge and develop independent perspectives of analysis, taking into account the scientific and international debate on methodological issues.

Course contents

Classes begin: 15 September 2025 (I semester, 1 period)

Mon, Tue h 9-11 aula Seminari 1 (first floor DISCI)

Wed h 9-11 aula seminari 2 (second floor DISCI)

Represent beliefs: concepts, methods and participation

This course looks at some of the main conceptual and interpretative issues in the study of the history of religions, focusing on the methodological challenges involved in fieldwork research. More specifically, the concept of ‘participation’ will be discussed in detail, as it is one of the most topical issues in the relevant research field.

• Construction and representation of ‘sacred’
• Historical and phenomenological approach
• Distance and estrangement
• Observation and participation
• Emotional and fluctuating participation
• Method, validity and authority of scientific report
• ethnographic postmodernism
• the nature of models
• Participation in belief?

Some of the issues discussed in the course will also be reconsidered by watching the movie Lisbon Story by Wim Wenders (1995).

At the end of the course the student shall be able to:

• Take advantage of the Internet as a framework enabling self-study and collaborative learning; also knowing the implications of an open, real, and participatory space to develop collaborative writing techniques and strategies online using e-learning tools.
• Read, analyze, summarize, understand, and explain explicit and implicit information in texts on historical-ethnographic theories, with special attention on methodological questions in religious studies.
• Develop the necessary skills to collect, process, analyze, and interpret genuine empirical data related to the magic and religion field.
• Be able to become aware of one’s own interpretative subjectivity during fieldwork research and consider one’s own participation.
• Recognize and manage the ethnographic variables involved in magic and religion fieldwork research.

Ethnographic field experiment for attending students

Attending students will organize a field micro-experimentation (recommended, not mandatory) on the magical-religious phenomenon of cartomancy in relation to the Catholic tradition. Some of the practical-theoretical issues related to the concepts of 'seeing', 'reading', 'perceiving' will be discussed.

Readings/Bibliography

Programme for attending students

1.Jonathan Z. Smith, Relating religion: essays in the study of religion, Chicago-London, The University of Chicago Press, 2004 (capitoli 2, 3, 4, 12).

The chapters by Smith 1) are available in Virtuale

2. Sbardella F. (a cura di), Etnologia del sacro. Religione e modernità nella riflessione francese, Pàtron, Bologna 2019.

3. Geertz Armin W., Approcci cognitivi ed evoluzionistici alla religione, Pàtron, Bologna 2020.

Programme for non-attending students

1) Jonathan Z. Smith, Relating religion: essays in the study of religion, Chicago-London, The University of Chicago press, 2004 (capitoli 2, 3, 4, 12).

The chapters by Smith 1) are available in Virtuale

2) Sbardella F. (a cura di), Etnologia del sacro. Religione e modernità nella riflessione francese, Pàtron, Bologna 2019

3) Geertz Armin W., Approcci cognitivi ed evoluzionistici alla religione, Pàtron, Bologna 2020.

4) Dupront A., «Antropologia religiosa», in Il sacro. Crociate e pellegrinaggi, pp. 433-557.

The chapters by Dupront 4) are available in Virtuale

Teaching methods

Traditional lectures will alternate with seminars for in-depth discussion in which students are invited to actively take part with personal investigations, presentations and reports concerning the proposed issues.

Part of the programme will be completed by using e-learning tools: this activity will be based on collaborative writing applied to ethnographic research through the use of collaborative digital tools.

Assessment methods

During the academic year exam sessions are scheduled on a monthly basis for both students with exam debt and those in progress.

The final examination is an interview. The students will be asked some questions concerning the texts included in the syllabus and the subjects presented in them.

For attending students, the assessment of the final interview is complemented with specific questions on the subjects discussed in class and with the research report on the fieldwork assignment.

Exam registration should be completed via the Almaesami website.

Assessment criteria:

• Teamwork and problem solving skills
• Quantity and quality of each student’s participation in e-learning activities
• Active participation in class discussion: ability to present, contrast, and defend one’s ideas with data that are relevant to the proposed subjects
• In-depth and detailed knowledge of the syllabus text contents
• Argument and critical skills
• Language appropriateness
• The evaluation of the written report will consider the typical conventions of academic writing (orthography, layout, and presentation), and also the ability to ponder, analyze, and draw conclusions.

The achievement by the student of an organic vision of the topics addressed together with their critical use, a good command of expression and of specific language will be evaluated with marks of excellence.

A mnemonic knowledge of the subject, together with ability to synthesize and analyze articulated in a correct, but not always appropriate language, will lead to discrete evaluations.

Training gaps and/or inappropriate language - albeit in a context of minimal knowledge of the exam material - will lead to grades that will not exceed the sufficiency.

Training gaps, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliographic materials offered during the course will be evaluated negatively.

Disabilities and DSA

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

The final examination is an interview. The students will be asked some questions concerning the texts included in the syllabus and the subjects presented in them.

 

Office hours

See the website of Francesca Sbardella