29664 - Religions and Society (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The student at the end of the course is able to identify the main religious problems that arise within complex social systems.

Course contents

I semester, 2 period
Jews and Christians: conflict and coexistence in historical perspective

Christianity entertained a complex, ambivalent and conflicting, relationship with the Jewish world. The course presents a long-term perspective that addresses this complex history, starting from the Jewish origins of Jesus to the contemporary age. It focuses on three interrelated issues: 1. Christian anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism (conflict); 2. Forms of coexistence and interaction between Jews and Christians; 3. The representations of Christianity in Jewish culture.

S.1. Jews and Judaism in the ancient world. Jewish Jesus and Second Temple Judaism. Judaism and Christianity in the first centuries of the Christian era. The polemics adversos Judaeos. Augustine. Jewish diasporas.

S.2. The medieval age: Jews in the Christians in the Muslim world. Settlements, representations, conflicts, expulsions.

S.3. Modern Age: The Protestant Reformation and the Jews; the Counter-Reformation and the Jews: ghettos and new settlements. New Christians. Two case studies: Venice and Amsterdam.

S.4. Religious and anti-religious enlightenment. The French Revolution and the birth of human rights. Representations of Judaism and Jewish society: the long nineteenth century.

S.5. Anti-Judaism and modern anti-Semitism. Christian churches and Jews in the twentieth century. Jews and Christians after the Shoah: from the birth of the state of Israel to the Second Vatican Council.

Readings/Bibliography

Attending Students

6 CFU:

1. David Nirenberg, Antigiudaismo. La tradizione occidentale, Viella, Roma, 2016

2. Four chapters of Key Concepts in the Study of Antisemitism (in Virtuale)

2.One text to select from the list below:

Non-attending students

• David Nirenberg, Antigiudaismo. La tradizione occidentale, Viella, Roma, 2016
  

2 books to select among: 

a) età antica

• A. Destro – M. Pesce, L’uomo Gesù. Giorni, luoghi, incontri di una vita, Mondadori, Milano, 2008.
  
• D. Boyarin, Il vangelo ebraico. Le vere origini del cristianesimo, Castelvecchi, 2012
  
• P. Schaefer, Giudeofobia. L'antisemitismo nel mondo antico, Carocci, Roma 2011 (2 ed.)

b) età tardo-antica e medievale

• G. Todeschini, Gli ebrei nell'Italia medievale, Carocci, Roma, 2018 (2a edizione)
• Tamar Herzig,
• Nina Rowe,
• Sara Lipton,

c) età moderna

• M. Garcìa Arenal, G. Wiegers, L'uomo dei tre mondi. Storia di Samuel Pallache, ebreo marocchino nell'Europa del Seicento, Viella, Roma, 2013
• Facchini C. (2014) Infamanti dicerie. La prima autodifesa ebraica dall’accusa del sangue, Collana Lapislazzuli, EDB, Bologna, 2014
• Facchini C. Ebraismo e mondo cristiano. Viaggio nell'eta' moderna (raccolta di saggi, testo scaricabile tra i materiali didattici dall'applicativo Virtuale)
• M. Caffiero, Storia degli ebrei nell'Italia moderna, Carocci, Roma, 2014
• S. Nadler, Spinoza e l'Olanda del Seicento, Einaudi, Torino, 2020

d) età contemporanea

• Henri Grégoire (a cura di Mariagrazia Meriggi), La rigenerazione degli ebrei. La questione ebraica alla vigilia della rivoluzione francese, Editori Riuniti, Roma, 2000
• Francesca Trivellato, (con guida alla lettura di C. Facchini 2022)
• Magda Teter, Blood Libel
• Cristiana Facchini, Forme dell'antisemitismo cristiano (Raccolta di saggi + Antisemitismo e chiesa cattolica in Italia (xix-xx sec.)(materiale che si scarica dall'applicativo Virtuale)

e) Novecento

• E. Mazzini, L'ebraismo cattolico dopo la Shoah, Viella, Roma, 2013
• E. Fattorini, Pio XI, Hitler e Mussolini. La solitudine di un papa, Einaudi, Torino, 2007
• H. Wolf, Il Papa e il diavolo. Il Vaticano e il Terzo Reich, Donzelli, Roma, 2008
• G. Miccoli, Antisemitismo e cattolicesimo, Morcelliana, Brescia, 2013
• Elissa Bemporad,

Teaching methods

lectures based on seminar methodology.

Text reading, analysis of iconographic sources, films and documentaries.

Students are invited to actively participate in the lectures with the presentation of a text in the bibliography.

Assessment methods

A student who attends at least 75% of the lectures is considered to be attending.


Oral test.


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.

Teaching tools

Powerpoint; Visual Aid; Documentaries and Films; Primary Sources.

Office hours

See the website of Cristiana Facchini