28337 - History of Religions (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student is able to understand the religious phenomena in their historical variety. He/She also masters the main interpretative theories and methods of analysis and is able to apply them to religious phenomena of different historical periods taking into account the relationship between religion and society in general. He/She is able to independently conduct scientific research in the field and to properly evaluate specialized scholarship.

Course contents

No Bosses, No Gods

Social Sciences, Materialism, and Religious Authority

The idea that religion can be manipulated for the political advantage of the ruling class can be traced back, through the rational critique of Enlightenment philosophers, to Plato's "noble lie." This course aims to analyze the potentials and challenges associated with the significant emphasis that historical and cultural materialism in anthropology, as well as in the social sciences more broadly, have placed on this ancient kernel of demythologizing critique. The connection between masters and gods, earthly lords and metaphysical rulers, is comprised of rhetorical, doxic, ideological, psychotropic, and tactical components, often intertwined and thus indistinguishable from one another. By revisiting influential materialist interpretations of religion from the second half of the nineteenth century to the present day, the objective of this course is to provide students with a methodological and conceptual framework that will enhance their understanding of the complex themes, problems, and analyses surrounding the mechanisms that create, reinforce, and undermine religious authorities.

Readings/Bibliography

Exam bibliography for attending students:

in addition to the materials provided in class by the teacher, attending astudents are required to select and read two books from the following list:

K. Marx, F. Engels, Sulla religione, Roma, Pigreco 2015.

P. Bourdieu, Il campo religioso. Con due esercizi, Torino, Accademia University Press 2012, only pp. 3-129.

A. Gramsci, La religione come senso comune, Parma, Pratiche 1997.

F. Jesi, L'accusa del sangue. La macchina mitologica antisemita, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri 2007.

S. Federici, Il Calibano e la strega. Le donne, il corpo e l’accumulazione originaria. Milano: Mimesis 2020

D. Graeber, M. Sahlins, Il potere dei re. Tra cosmologia e politica, Milano, Raffaello Cortina, 2019

For non-attending students:

Three texts from this list:

K. Marx, F. Engels, Sulla religione, Roma, Pigreco 2015.

P. Bourdieu, Il campo religioso. Con due esercizi, Torino, Accademia University Press 2012, only pp. 3-129.

A. Gramsci, La religione come senso comune, Parma, Pratiche 1997.

F. Jesi, L'accusa del sangue. La macchina mitologica antisemita, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri 2007

S. Federici, Il Calibano e la strega. Le donne, il corpo e l’accumulazione originaria. Milano: Mimesis 2020

D. Graeber, M. Sahlins, Il potere dei re. Tra cosmologia e politica, Milano, Raffaello Cortina, 2019

Teaching methods

Lectures; discussion of texts provided during the lectures

Assessment methods

Students who attend at least 75% of the lectures are considered to be attending. The final exam is of an oral type and consists of a series of questions aimed at ascertaining the student's knowledge of the topics addressed in class (for attending students) and included in the program's texts. Elements contributing to the final evaluation include detailed knowledge of the content of the texts, correct use of specialized language and, above all, the ability to organize information into complex answers demonstrating critical and argumentative skills. During the course, teacher and students will consider the possibility for the students to give oral presentations on agreed topics, the evaluation of which will compose, together with the outcome of the oral examination, the final evaluation.

Teaching tools

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

Office hours

See the website of Emiliano Urciuoli