98964 - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, students obtain a critical knowledge of the socio-cultural matrix of the main religious traditions and are familiar with the history of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They apply research methods to address issues relating to contexts characterized by cultural, linguistic, and religious pluralism, being capable to critically promoting their relevance. They are able to communicate in written and oral form the knowledge they have acquired, using communication methods appropriate to the above contexts and taking into account their audience.

Course contents

Religions in the Making: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from Late Antiquity to Modern Scholarship

The aim of this course is to explore the relationships between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from two complementary perspectives: the formation of these religious traditions during the first centuries of the Common Era and the history of their interactions over time. Students will be introduced to current debates in the study of the Abrahamic religions, to the methods and challenges of comparative religion, and to the complex dynamics that have shaped the encounters between these traditions, including conflict, coexistence, and mutual exchange.

Weeks 1–2: The course opens with a comparative analysis of the origins and formative processes of the three Abrahamic religions. Particular attention will be paid to the historical contexts in which these traditions emerged, the ways in which they defined themselves in relation to one another, and the methodological challenges involved in studying them comparatively. The principal readings will be drawn from the Handbook on Abrahamic Religions.

Weeks 3–5: The second part of the course is devoted to a series of historical case studies. It examines the historical, polemical, and scholarly representations of the three founding figures—Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad—from the early modern period to the emergence of modern Orientalist scholarship in the nineteenth century. This investigation will be conducted alongside an analysis of the development of comparative approaches to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, highlighting how changing scholarly perspectives reshaped the understanding of these religious traditions and their interrelationships.

Detailed program will be in the Syllabus (see: Virtuale)

Readings/Bibliography

Attending students

2 sections from the Handbook on Abrahamic Religions (see: Syllabus) and 1 text from the list below.

Non attending students

2  texts on different religious traditions from the list:

Giudaismo antico, nascita del cristianesimo, ebraismo rabbinico

Daniel Boyarin, Border Lines: The Partition of Judeo-Christianity, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004

Katell Berthelot, Jews and their Roman Rivals: Pagan’s Rome Challenge to Israel, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2021.

Michael Satlow, E il Signore parlò a Mosè. Come la Bibbia divenne sacra, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2015.

Martin Goodman, Storia dell’ebraismo, Torino, Einaudi, 2019

Francesca Stavrakopoulou, Anatomia di Dio, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2022

Robert Louis Wilken, I primi mille anni. Storia globale del cristianesimo, Torino, Einaudi, 2021

La formazione dell’islam, religioni nel tardo antico

Guy Stroumsa, The Making of the Abrahamic Religions in Late Antiquity, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2015.

Aaron Hughes, Abrahamic Religions: On the Uses and Abuses of History, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2012. (Questo libro solo in combinazione con Guy Stroumsa, The Making of the Abrahamic Religions in Late Antiquity, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2015.)

Aaron Hughes, Muslim Identities: An Introduction to Islam, Columbia University Press, New York, 2013.

Carole Hillenbrand, Islam. Una nuova introduzione storica, Einaudi, Torino, 2016.

Alfred Louis de Prémare, Alle origini del Corano, Roma, Carocci, 2015.

Il Corano nella cultura europea

Pier Mattia Tommasino, L'Alcorano di Macometto. Storia di un libro del Cinquecento europeo, Bologna Il Mulino 2013

Pier Mattia Tommasino, The Venetian Kur'an, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018

L. Biasiori, G. Marcocci, Eds., Machiavelli, Islam and the West, Cham, Palgrave MacMillan, 2018

The Qu’ran in Rome, edited by F. Stella, R. Tottoli (Berlin-Boston: De Gruyter, 2024) Guy Stroumsa, A New Science: The Discovery of Religion in the Age of Reason, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2010

Il contesto multireligioso della Spagna medievale

Sarah Stroumsa, Andalus and Sefarad: On Philosophy and its History in Islamic Spain, Princeton & Oxford, Princeton University Press, 2019.

David Nirenberg, Communities of Violence: Persecution of Minorities in the Middle Ages, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.

Mercedes Garcia Arenal, Gerard Wiegers, Eds. The Expulsion of Moriscos from Spain, Leiden-Boston: Brill, 2014.

David Nirenberg, Neighboring Faiths: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in the Middle Ages and Today Chicago – London: The University of Chicago Press, 2014

Lo studio scientifico delle religioni e il rapporto con la modernità

Guy G. Stroumsa, The Idea of Semitic Monotheism: The Rise and Fall of a Scholarly Myth, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.

Cristiana Facchini, Annelies Lannoy, Eds. The Many Lives of Jesus: Scholarship, Religion, and the Nineteenth Century Imagination, Turnhouts, Brepols, 2024

F. Hartog, La nazione, la religione, l'avvenire. Sulle tracce di Ernest Renan, Raffaello Cortina 2024

Saggi Facchini in Virtuale

Teaching methods

Lectures based on seminar methodology focused on discussions of texts and sources. Students are required to read the material which is listed in the Syllabus.

Assessment methods

Oral exam.

The evaluation takes into account the soundness of preparation, analytical and synthetic skills, clarity of exposition and the ability to use appropriate terminology.
- The achievement of a comprehensive and synthetic view of the topics covered, combined with the ability to critically analyze them and the use of precise and appropriate language will be evaluated with grades 28-30L.
- Fair but not in-depth knowledge of the subject matter, limited ability to synthesize and analyze, and the use of imprecise language will be assessed with grades from 24-27.
- Poor knowledge of course topics, use of imprecise terminology, and lack of familiarity with the course bibliography will result in grades from 18-23.

During the exam the use of AI is not allowed.

During the academic year, six exam sessions are scheduled, generally in the following months: January, February, May, June, September for all students.

Teaching tools

Powerpoint, primary sources, visual aid, historiography

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.

Office hours

See the website of Cristiana Facchini