B8097 - Problems in the Theory of Religions (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students possess the necessary knowledge to identify and analyze theoretical issues relevant to the study of religion as a transhistorical and transcultural phenomenon. They are able to establish thematic and problematic connections between classical works in the science of religion and contemporary studies, in order to deepen understanding of theoretical and methodological questions whose relevance and significance transcend disciplinary boundaries, extending into areas common to the social and natural sciences and the humanities. Assessing advantages and disadvantages of comparison, along with critically examining the distinction between religious and non-religious, has allowed them to refine their critical attitude toward a naive understanding of the religious phenomenon, manage biases, avoid anachronisms, and locate similarities and differences between ways of "imagining religion" from different times and cultures. In oral communication, they demonstrate a good ability to read and critically understand the basic bibliography in relation to the topics covered in the course, and they are able to use the technical terminology of the discipline.

Course contents

"The counterfeit money of its dream": Pierre Bourdieu on religion

The course aims to introduce the students to one of the most sophisticated, intricate, and powerful models for analyzing, explaining, and critiquing the phenomenon of religion that was developed in the late twentieth century. By intersecting anthropology, sociology, and the science of religion, while also venturing into art history and literature, the essays on religion by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002) span a long period (1958-1994). They are not very numerous and have never been reunited into a monograph explicitly dedicated to the subject. These scattered writings, sometimes more theoretical and sometimes more ethnographic in nature, have a clear gravitational center in the model of the “field,” conceived precisely from the study of religion. Spanning from colonial Algeria to the French province, from the exegesis of Molière to close readings of Marx, Durkheim, and Weber, and the analysis of Renaissance frescoes and sculptures in Santa Maria Novella, Bourdieu's rigorously materialist perspective examines religion without confessional biases or Enlightenment prejudices. The result is a powerful gnoseological machine whose fundamental conceptual mechanisms (from Sartre's notion of "bad faith" to the triad of "field-interest-capital" and the concept of "sociodicy" and “dissolution of the religious field”) will be analyzed critically and in-depth.

Readings/Bibliography

For attending students

In addition to the materials provided in class by the teacher, attending students are required to read:

1) P. Bourdieu, "Genesis and Structure of the Religious Field", Comparative Social Research 13 (1991): 1-43.

2) P. Bourdieu, “The Laughter of Bishops", in P. Bourdieu, Practical Reason: On the Theory of Action" (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1998), 112-123

3) P. Bourdieu, “Pietà religiosa e devozione artistica. Fedeli e amatori d’arte a Santa Maria Novella”, in P. Bourdieu, Il mercato dei beni simbolici e altri scritti sull’arte, Milano, Meltemi, 2023, pp. 181-196.

4) P. Bourdieu, “La dissoluzione del campo religioso,” in P. Bourdieu, Cose dette. Verso una sociologia riflessiva, Napoli, Orthotes, 2013, pp. 133-138.

5) R. Alciati, “If Theodicy Is Always Sociodicy: Bourdieu and the Marxian Critique of Religion,” in G. Paolucci (a cura di), Bourdieu and Marx: Practices of Critique, Palgrave Macmillan, 2022, pp. 313-324.

For non-attending students

Non-attending students are required to supplement the above bibliography (from 1 to 5) with one text of their choice from the following list:

1) T. Rey, Bourdieu on Religion: Imposing Faith and Legitimacy, London, Routledge, 2014.

2) G. Paolucci, Introduzione a Bourdieu, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2011.

Teaching methods

Lectures; discussion of texts.

Assessment methods

Attendance. Students are considered attending if they participate in at least 75% of the lectures.

 

Oral Exam. The exam consists of a limited number of questions aimed at assessing the student's knowledge of the topics covered in class (for attending students) and in the required textbooks. Evaluation will consider the overall solidity of preparation, the ability to analyze, synthesize, and argue critically, clarity of presentation, use of appropriate language, and the ability to establish connections between different parts of the course. Students are therefore expected to carefully read the required texts.

• Achieving a comprehensive and synthesized understanding of the topics, combined with critical analysis skills and precise, appropriate language, will be assessed with grades from 28 to 30 cum laude.

• A fair but not in-depth knowledge of the subject, limited analytical and synthesis skills, and imprecise language will result in grades from 24 to 27.

• Poor knowledge of the course topics, inaccurate terminology, and lack of familiarity with the course bibliography will lead to grades from 18 to 23.

• The exam is not passed if the student fails to answer even one of the exam questions.

Exam sessions are scheduled in the following months: June, July, September, January, February, April, May and are open to all students.

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

Images, PowerPoint presentations, selections of texts uploaded by the teacher to Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Emiliano Urciuoli