98961 - History of Doctrines and Creeds: Sources and Methods (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, students understand historical-critical methods and socio-anthropological contributions to analyze texts of the major religious traditions. They are able to research and critically examine materials, bibliographic and documentary sources of different types, both in print and digital format, in order conduct philological, historical-religious, and documentary investigations. They are able to revise and update their knowledge and develop independent analytical perspectives, taking into account scholarly and international debates relating to cultural and religious practices and changes in complex societies.

Course contents

Christian and Islamic traditions will be approached in parallel. First of all will be examined the sacred Scriptures and all the problems that revolve around their composition, fixation in writing, transmission, interpretation and significance in intellectual elaboration of what they imply and in the doctrinal development.
We will then examine the importance of tradition for the transmission and interpretation of the revealed data and its elaboration regarding the fixation of a doctrine as a synthetic expression of the peculiar religious identity of the community and the believer.
We will then examine some essays of theological and doctrinal and theological and jurisprudential processing of each tradition. The historical development of some ritual practice of each tradition will also be examined.

Readings/Bibliography

Biblia (Associazione laica di cultura biblica), Vademecum per il lettore della bibbia, Morcelliana, Brescia 2017, 404p.

Claudio Moreschini – Enrico Norelli, Storia della letteratura cristiana antica greca e latina, I Da Paolo all'età costantiniana, Morcelliana, Brescia 1995.

Some articles taken from Nuovo Dizionario Patristico e di Antichità Cristiane that will be uploaded on virtual.

Alfred-Louis De Prémare, Alle origini del Corano, Carocci, Roma 2014, 188p. (agree with the teacher chapters 1-3 (I dibattiti sul Corano; Un approccio letterario al Corano; Alle fonti per la storia del Corano cioè pag. 63-98) or chapters 4-5 (La storia di un testo; I dibattiti sul Corano... all'interno del Corano, cioè le pagine 99-160).

William M. Watt, The formative Period of islamic Thought, EUP, Edimburgo 1973, 424p. (in agreement with the professor: or The Beginnings (632-750 d.C.) [pag. 7-148] or The Century of Struggle (750-850 d.C.) [pag. 149-250] or the Triumph of Sunnism (850-945 d.C.) [251-318].

Tim Winter, The classic companion to classical Islamic Theology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2008, 337p. (Two sages in agreement with the professor: one taken from the part One Historical Perspectives [p. 19-117: Qur'an and ḥadīṯ; The early Creed; Islamic Philosophy; The developed kalām Tradition; The social Construction of Orthodoxy] and one taken from second part [p. 121-324: God: essence and attributes; Creation; Ethics; Revelation; The existence of God; Worship; Theological dimensions of Islamic Law; Theology and Sunnism; Epistemology and divine discourse; Escatology]).

for not attending students: 

In addition to the previous bibliography and the contents of the lessons, a section of each of the following volumes in agreement with the professor:

Manlio Simonetti – Emanuela Prinzivalli, La teologia degli antichi cristiani (secoli I-V), Morcelliana, Brescia 2012, 442p. (or pages 1-27 + 29-206 [the reflection on God] or pages 1-27. 207-386 [the reflection on man]).

Régis Blachère, Introduction au Coran, 2ª edizione, Maisonneuve et Larose, Parigi 1977, 310p. (one section in agreement with the professor: chapter 1 [pag. 1-135: the constitution of the Vulgate] or chapters 2 and 3 [pag. 136-181: description of actual vulgate; pag. 182-198: critics tha are arising from text of the vulgate received] or chapters 4 and 5 [pag. 199-263: resources provided to Orientalist exegesis by certain «Koranic sciences»; pp. 264-277: the Translations of the Koran in western languages]).

Teaching methods

Frontal lesson with PowerPoint presentations, historical-critical analysis of primary sources. The lesson frequency is not indispensable, but helps to better assimilate the contents that will then be examined

Assessment methods

Oral exam with verification of the analytical capacity and criticism on the texts examined during the lessons.

It is preferred that the student chooses a topic on the religious tradition that intends to deepen and, after having agreed with the teacher the reference bibliography, prepare a written paper that must not be longer than 15,000 characters spaces included. The paper will be the starting point of the oral examination. A presentation of a critical text in the ancient language that is better known with its own translation compared with the translations already published is desirable. The paper must be sent to the teacher no less than a week before the exam. The paper must be written correctly both as regards the contents and as regards the bibliographic references in the footnotes and must have a premise and a conclusion. Quantity does not count but quality. The plagiarism (copy and paste from the Internet or from other sources without putting any reference) is a serious lack that disqualifies the paper.

Teaching tools

Powerpoint presentations and texts and translations uploaded to the virtual page. Some demonstration during the classes of some useful sites of sources.

Office hours

See the website of Davide Righi