84310 - Religious Experiences and Practices (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will possess a general knowledge of the history, methodology, and theory of the study of religion in historical and transnational perspectives, with special reference to a broad set of theories from social sciences and the humanities that have extensively dealt with religious facts and phenomena. The student should thus acquire extensive knowledge about religions within their cultural and social contexts, and will be acquainted with processes of change and transformation that have influenced religious systems. At the end of the course the student has acquired a basic knowledge on methods and theories of religions in order to understand religions in historical perspective; he/she is also capable to conduct autonomous research in the field, and ultimately to disseminate the results of his/her research.

Course contents

Interpreting religion. A cultural journey into the twentieth century

The aim of the course is to offer a broad theoretical and historical overview of the entanglements between religions and modernity. Starting from the nineteenth century onwards, and focusing also on the rise of totalitarian regimes until the Cold War, the study of religion became increasingly relevant in many Western countries. Caught in between national states and empires, discourses about religion were produced by many great scholars, and institutionalised within the higher education system. 

The course offers a complex vision about the role religion played in Twentieth century culture, and attempts to think how certain works eventually became 'classics' of the field. 

Topics:

1. The long Nineteenth century and the religious question

2. Religion and nation

3. Science and religion

4. The great theories (firs Hal of 20th century and second half of 20th century)

5. Christianity and Judaism

6. Conclusions

Readings/Bibliography

Mandatory readings

• C. Bayly, La nascita del mondo moderno 1780-1914, Einaudi, Torino, 2009 (Cap. IX: Gli imperi della religione)+ J. Osterhammel, Storia della globalizzazione. Dimensioni, processi, epoche, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2005 (parte sulla religione).
  
• Cristiana Facchini, Religioni ed età contemporanea, in Manuale di storia contemporanea, a cura di P. Pombeni e S. Cavazza, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2012 (ristampa 2018) + Cristiana Facchini Voci dell’ebraismo liberale. Costruire una religione moderna, in Ebraismo, a cura di D. Bidussa, Religioni e società moderna, 2, a c. di G. Filoramo, Einaudi, Torino, 2008, pp. 171-196 + Facchini C. (2015) Il mito nelle opere di Emile Durkheim e Marcel Mauss, in Filosofie del mito, eds. Giovanni Leghissa, Enrico Manera, Carocci, Roma, 2015, pp. 45-51 (articles will be provided through the online app IOL)
• C. Facchini, Pensare le religioni. Un percorso nel Novecento, Carocci, Roma, 2020 (online IOL)

1 book to select among:

• E. Durkheim, Le forme elementari della vita religiosa, Meltemi, Roma, 2005 (edizione originale 1913)
• M. Weber, Sociologia della religione, vol. 1. L'etica protestante e lo spirito del capitalismo (ed.or. 1905) (diverse edizioni)
  
• M. Weber, Sociologia della religione, Il giudaismo antico,
• M. Weber, Sociologia delle religioni, in Economia e politica, Edizioni di Comunità, Milano
• W. James, Le varie forme dell'esperienza religiosa, Morcelliana, Brescia, 1998 (ed. originale 1903)
• S. Freud, Totem e tabù, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, 1980.
• S. Freud, L'uomo Mosè e la religione monoteista, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino (varie ristampe)
• G. Simmel, Sulla religione, in Simmel G. 1993, Saggi di sociologia della religione, prefazione e cura di R. Cipriani, Borla, Roma + Mary Douglas, Purezza e pericolo, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2003 (Capitolo: Gli abomini di Levitico)
• Adolf Harnack, L'essenza del cristianesimo, Queriniana, Torino, 1980 (2003)
• Leo Baeck, L'essenza dell'ebraismo, Marietti, Genova, 1988
• A. Loisy, L'Evangile et l'eglise, Parigi, 1904 (anche in traduzione italiana)
• E. Voegelin, Le religioni politiche (1938) + R. Bellah, La religione civile in Italia e in America, Armando editore, Roma, 2012
• E. Gentile, Le religioni della politica. Fra democrazia e totalitarismi, Laterza, Bari-Roma, 2007 (2014 digitale)
• H. Jonas, Il concetto di Dio dopo Auschwitz, Il Melangolo, Genova, 1991
• H. Jonas, Lo gnosticismo,
• H. Bergson, Le due fonti della morale e della filosofia, Laterza, Bari-Roma, 1998
  

Furter readings (not mandatory)

• I. Strenski, Contesting Sacrifice: Religion, Nationalism, and Social Thought in France, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2002
• P. Cooper White, Old Dirty Gods: Religion, Antisemitism, and the Origins of Psychoanalysis, Routledge, London & New York, 2018
• Marsha Aileen Hewitt, Freud on Religion, Acumen, Durham, 2014
• William D. Richardson, William James: In the Maelstrom of American Modernism, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston & New York, 2007
• M. Weber, Max Weber. Una biografia, Il Mulino, Bologna, 1995
• M. Weber, La scienza come professione, la politica come professione, Einaudi, Torino, 2004
• Simmel G. 1993, Saggi di sociologia della religione, prefazione e cura di R. Cipriani, Borla, Roma.

Teaching methods

Lectures, discussion and analysis of relevant literature. Visual aid, powerpoint, films, documentaries 

Assessment methods

Students who attend regularly must write a paper of 20/30 pages on topics discussed during classes. Instructions for the paper will be provided during class, and available on the IOL app.

Oral exam for other students.

The questions will deal with general themes. Students are expected to show capabilities in analysing and summarising the topics of the books. Among the elements that concur in the final evaluation there are: detailed knowledge of the book's content, property of language, and especially the capacity of organizing the information – also deriving from different sources – into complex answers showing expositive and critical skills.

Proper language and the ability to critically speak about the books' content will lead to a good/excellent final grade

Acceptable language and the ability to resume the books' content will lead to a sufficient/fair grade.

Insufficient linguistic proficiency and fragmentary knowledge of the books' content will lead to a failure in passing the exam.

To sign up for the exam, please use the Almaesami website

Office hours

See the website of Cristiana Facchini