98959 - History of Interreligious Relations (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, students are familiar with the main theoretical, methodological and technical tools of the historical-religious disciplines and the social sciences that deal with the study of religion. They evaluate religious phenomena and dynamisms in local and global contexts, identify connections, developments, persistence and transformations of religious phenomena in complex societies, focusing on the socio-political implications of interaction among religious groups. They are able to revise and update their knowledge and develop independent analytical perspectives, taking into account the scholalry and international debate relating to cultural and religious practices and changes in complex societies.

Course contents

The course intends to reconstruct from a historical perspective the relations between Christianity and other religions in the 20th century, in particular focusing on the relations between Christianity and Judaism in the framework of the debate that led to the approval in 1965 of Nostra Aetate, the declaration of the Second Vatican Council on the relations of the church with non-Christian religions. The history of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism over the centuries will be retraced, and then focus on the last two centuries, in particular on the pontificates of Pius XI and Pius XII, the debate from the 1960s on the figure of Pope Pacelli, to the prodromes, prejudices, hopes to the conflicts, to the protagonists who worked to achieve the drafting and approval of the document that, although only qualified as a 'declaration', represents one of the most important documents of the Council, as it defined a profound renewal of the Church's position with respect to the past, on a highly topical issue. 

Studying Nostra Aetate means talking about anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism, the relationship between the Churches and the Shoah, and Jewish-Christian dialogue: the declaration constitutes a historical challenge of considerable proportions. In order to reconstruct the history of relations between Christianity and Judaism, we will make use of traditional and typically twentieth-century sources, such as television and film documents, but also posts, tweets and fake news in social networks, to understand how religious illiteracy amplifies stereotypes and prejudices, which, on the web, become viral, fuelling conflicts and tensions.

Readings/Bibliography

Attending students should bring:

1. La svolta del 1938. Fascism, Catholicism and anti-Semitism, edited by Andrea Riccardi and Gabriele Rigano, Guerini e Associati, Milan 2020.

2. the essay by A. Melloni, Nostra Aetate e la scoperta del sacramento dell’alterità, in Chiesa ed ebraismo oggi. Percorsi fatti, questioni aperte, a cura di N.J. Hofmann, J. Sievers, M. Mottolese, Editrice Pontiicia Università Gregoriana, Roma 2005, pp. 153-179.

3. Chapter IX “All’inizio del terzo millennio”, in P. Stefani, L'antigiudaismo. Storia di un'idea, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2004, pp. 250-290.


Non-attenders also bring:

1. the essay by Simon Levis Sullam, Per una storia dell'antisemitismo cattolico in Italia, in Cristiani d’Italia. Chiese, società e Stato 1861-2011, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Roma 2011, vol. I, pp. 461-470 [download: https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/per-una-storia-dell-antisemitismo-cattolico-in-italia_%28Cristiani-d%27Italia%29/]


2. The essay by A. Melloni, La Chiesa cattolica davanti alla Shoah (1945-2010), in Storia della Shoah in Italia: vicende, memorie, rappresentazioni, a cura di M. Flores [et. Al.], vol. 2., 2010, UTET, pp. 288-318.

The texts and sources of interreligious dialogue documents will be provided in class and uploaded online.

A number of films will also be recommended in the course, including Marco Bellocchio's Kidnapped, which will be discussed in class.

Teaching methods

The course will be divided between lectures and workshop and group activities; primary sources (archive documents, diaries, letters, newspaper articles) and typical twentieth-century sources (audiovisual sources, posts) will be discussed. Attendance at lectures is not essential, but it helps to better assimilate the contents that will then be examined.

Assessment methods

A student who attends at least 75% of the lectures is considered to be attending. The course will begin on November 2023 and end on December 20, 2023. That said, class attendance does not affect the examination except for differences in the syllabus (see the Texts/Bibliography section).
The examination will be an oral test. Both the ability to read the sources and the specific knowledge of themes, paths and questions on contemporary interreligious relations will be assessed. Students will be asked to prove their command of specific vocabulary and knowledge of diachronic data (dates and historical events).
Below is an example of possible questions (should be understood as a MERE general allusion to a much broader spectrum of questions): "Read and comment on the following passage", "Who was Jules Isac?"; "How did Pius XI's attitude towards fascism change?" "What is Mit brennender Sorge"
No books or notes may be used during the test.
The questioning will take place following the order of entry in the Almaesami application lists.

Assessment

Excellence (grades 30 and 30L): achievement of organic vision of the themes proposed during the lessons and critical use demonstrating mastery of content and technical vocabulary.
Average assessment (grades 25 to 29): mnemonic knowledge and not entirely accurate use of technical vocabulary.
Sufficient assessment (grades 18 to 24): minimal knowledge of the topics covered (dates and names), without serious errors.
Insufficient: lack of minimum requirements (i.e. sufficient assessment).

Teaching tools

Power point projections; audiovisual, photographic and television materials.

Office hours

See the website of Federico Ruozzi