28353 - History of Christianity (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course students are familiar with sources interpretation processes and with the history of christianity in a diachronical perspective. Students will have in-depth knowledge and understanding of the role played by christianity in the cultural history and its position among other religions.

Course contents

The class aims to focus on a notion of great christological relevance for the theological development of ancient Christianity: the idea of Deus patiens.

With a historical-conceptual approach that compares the early four centuries AD and specific historical aspects of the Early Modern Age (XVI-XVII centuries) with in-depth examinations into two contexts that, while distinct, are thought-provoking points of comparison for the comprehension of the reception and use of ancient Christianity: the development and spread of the anti-Trinitarian doctrines from the so-called Radical Reformation and the ideal of the counter-reformation bishop.

The following issues will be examined:

• The historical-social context of Christianity in the framework of the Roman Empire between the II and IV centuries;
• Hellenistic Judaism;
• Gnosticism;
• The relation between philosophy and theology: Clement of Alexandria as a case-study;
• The historical and theological context of Christianity in the East during the IV century;
• The reception of the Church Fathers in the Modern Age: case studies.

Readings/Bibliography

Syllabus for attending students 

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.

Attending students must study the following texts.

Primary sources:

- one text among the following:

Quis dives salvetur: Quale ricco si salverà, a c. di Bianco M. G., «Collana Testi Patristici» 148, Roma 1999.

Il Pedagogo, a c. di Tessore D., «Collana Testi Patristici» 181, Città Nuova, Roma 2005.

Stromati: Note di vera filosofia, a c. di Pini G. - Rizzi M., Milano 2006, pp. 487-824.

- Eusebio di Cesarea, Vita di Costantino , a cura di L. Franco, Milano 2010(2).

Literature:

- Prinzivalli E. (a cura di), Storia del Cristianesimo. I. L'età antica (secoli I-VII), Roma 2015, capitoli 1-4 (saggi di: Enrico Norelli, Claudio Gianotto, Emanuela Prinzivalli-Andrés Sáez).

- Rizzi M., Introduzione, in Clemente di Alessandria. Stromati. Note di vera filosofia, a c. di Pini G. - Rizzi M., Milano 2006, pp. VII-LXXXI.

- Dainese D., La Vita e le Laudes Constantini. Presentazione e analisi di testi problematici, in: Costantino 1, Roma 2013, pp. 91-115.

- One choice from the following two options:

M. Biagioni – L. Felici, La Riforma radicale nell’Europa del Cinquecento, Roma-Bari 2012.

Dainese D., L'uso di alcuni padri della chiesa nell'età della controriforma: contemplazione, meditazione e costruzione dell'ideale del vescovo in Federico Borromeo, in L'anti-Babele. Sulla mistica degli antichi e dei moderni, a c. di I. Adinolfi, G. Gaeta, A. Lavagetto, Il melangolo, Genova 2017, pp. 281-318 and Id., Una nave tra Milano e Roma: lo spazio sacro nel De [sacro] presbyterio di Federico Borromeo. Appunti da una prospettiva storico-religiosa, in: La donazione della raccolta d'arte di Federico Borromeo all'Ambrosiana – 1618-2018 – Confronti e prospettive, Milano 2019, pp. 91 – 118; M. Giuliani, Il vescovo filosofo: Federico Borromeo e I sacri ragionamenti, Firenze 2007, pp. 53-86.

Syllabus for non-attending students

Students who do not attend must also study:

Dainese D., Passibilità divina. La dottrina dell'anima in Clemente Alessandrino, Città Nuova, Roma 2012.

Dainese D., La femminilità del Padre. Note a margine di Q.d.s. 36-37, in Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum, in Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum 56 (2013), pp. 40-50;

Dainese D., Le vestigia di una dottrina dell'anima in Clemente Alessandrino. Nota a margine di due incisi sul linguaggio di animali e angeli, in Adamantius 20 (2014), pp. 306-321.

For students who have not previously studied this discipline, the following manual is highly recommended:

Potestà G.L. - Vian G., Storia del Cristianesimo, Il Mulino, Bologna 2014.

 

Teaching methods

Lecture; historical-critical analysis of primary sources. Attendance is not necessary, but attendance will be helpful in assimilating the content that will later be the subject of examination (written or oral, cf. “assessment methods” section).

Assessment methods

As already mentioned, only students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending. Nevertheless, attendance/not to the class will not affect the exam (except for the bibliography differences see section "readings/bibliography" above). 

Students will have two exam possibilities: either the classic oral exam or an essay of 20 pages written in Italian.

The oral examination will be based on the reading/comments of the sources and on the critical literature and cannot be divided into two successive times. Assessment will be carried out on both the capacity to read ancient texts (also in Italian translation) and specific knowledge of the history of Christianity. Students will be called upon to prove their mastery of specific vocabulary and the knowledge of diachronic data (dates and historical events). The following are examples of potential questions (to be understood as merely a general allusion to a much broader spectrum of questions): “Read and comment upon Strom.V 6”, “Who was Federico Borromeo?”, “What are the main features of the mystical theology in Early Christianity?”

The use of notes, books, dictionaries is not allowed during the exam.

Candidates will be interviewed according to the enrollment list of the app "Almaesami".

In terms of the essay, students who opt for this solution must consider that it involves a 20-page paper that must be written in Italian. It must regard one of the issues of the course or a historiographic problem raised during the lessons. In this case, a more specific bibliography will be indicated. The paper must be sent at least one week before the exam.

Assessment scale:

Excellent (with possibility attribution of honors in the case of originality), i.e. 30 and 30L: the attainment of an organic vision of the issues presented during the lessons and their critical use that demonstrates a mastery of content and technical vocabulary.

Average, i.e. 25-29: Mnemonic knowledge and only partially accurate use of technical vocabulary.

Sufficient, i.e. 18-24: Minimal knowledge of the issues (dates and names), without serious errors.

Insufficient: absence of minimum requirements of ‘sufficient’ assessment.

Teaching tools

Multimedia materials (iconographic sources) and lesson notes

Office hours

See the website of Davide Dainese