28271 - History of Churches and Religious Movements

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students are familiar with the sources and historical development of the Christian religious movements examined, also with reference to the history of ideas, cultures and, where involved, relations with other religions. Students are also introduced to the application of the historical method in the study of Christianity and its relationship to other methodologies (particularly with regard to the social sciences).

Course contents

The 6 cfu course coincides with the First Module (for the MA in History and Oriental Studies and for students of the MA in Cultural Anthropology who choose such module) or with the Second Module (for the MA in Italian Culture and Language for Foreigners and for students of the MA in Cultural Anthropology who choose such module). The 12 cfu course includes both the First and the Second Module.

 

First Module (Andrea Annese)

Jesus and His Movement

What were the main themes of the preaching of the historical Jesus, and his most significant practices? How was the religious movement that took shape around Jesus as a charismatic leader? And how did the various groups of Jesus’ followers in the first century CE reinterpret his message and figure?

Starting from these questions, the course will develop the analysis of the most relevant sources to trace a historical reconstruction (in dialogue with the social sciences) of Jesus, his movement and their relations with different socio-cultural contexts. Fundamental methodological coordinates for the study of the topic will be provided and the elements of continuity and discontinuity between Jesus’ preaching and the new interpretations of it that emerged already in the first decades of his movement’s history will be highlighted. Finally, a focus will be offered on two significant modern interpretations of Jesus: those of Leo Tolstoy and Friedrich Nietzsche, who almost in the same years, but in quite different ways, reconsidered Jesus’ ethical message.

 

Second Module (Davide Dainese)

Christianity and the state from Antiquity to the Contemporary Age.

Carl Schmitt, in Political Theology (1922) had argued that political concepts were secularized theological concepts. This famous thesis initiated, during the twentieth century, a heated debate on the relationship between the sphere of the political and that of the theological.

The module aims at discussing some historically found patterns in a diachronic path that interweaves the history of biblical exegesis and the history of law.

The following topics will be focused on in the course of the lectures:

- Antiquity: the Constantinian paradigm and its declinations

- The use and reuse of biblical-patristic models in the long run

- Violence and religion: the problem of war

Readings/Bibliography

First Module

Exam bibliography:

1) E. Norelli, Gesù di Nazaret, in E. Prinzivalli (a cura di), Storia del cristianesimo. I. L’età antica (secoli I-VII), Carocci, Roma 2015 (or reprints), pp. 33-68.

2) A. Destro, M. Pesce, Il Battista e Gesù. Due movimenti giudaici nel tempo della crisi, Roma, Carocci, 2021.

3) M. Pesce, Da Gesù al cristianesimo, Morcelliana, Brescia 2011 (or reprints), only pp. 5-34, 55-84, 209-225 (= Presentazione; Parte prima, capp. I e III; Parte II, Conclusione).

4) C. Gianotto, Il movimento di Gesù tra la Pasqua e la missione di Paolo, in R. Penna (a cura di), Le origini del cristianesimo. Una guida, Terza ediz., Carocci, Roma 2018, pp. 165-200 and 416-422 (notes).

5) A. Annese, F. Berno, M. Fallica, M. Mantovani, Le origini cristiane. Testi e autori (secoli I-II), Carocci, Roma 2021 (o ristampe), only pp. 21-135 (= chap. 1-3).

6) Excerpts from L.N. Tolstoj, La mia fede, Mondadori, Milano 1988, and F. Nietzsche, L’anticristo. Maledizione del cristianesimo, Adelphi, Milano 1977, which will be discussed during the course (these brief excerpts will be made available on Virtuale).

Non-attending students will add:

E. Prinzivalli (a cura di), L’enigma Gesù. Fonti e metodi della ricerca storica, Carocci, Roma 2008 (or reprints).

 

Second Module

Attending students should:

- study a text of their choice from among the following three:

Eusebio di Cesarea, Elogio di Costantino. Discorso per il trentennale. Discorso Regale, a cura di M. Amerise, Milano 2005.

Eusebio di Cesarea, Vita di Costantino, a cura di L. Franco, Milano (qualsiasi edizione disponibile).

T. Canella, Gli Actus Silvestri : genesi di una leggenda su Costantino imperatore, Fondazione Centro italiano di studi sull’alto Medioevo, Spoleto 2006.

- Study 4 essays of their choice in the following collective volumes:

A. Melloni – E. Prinzivalli – S. Ronchey (a cura di), Costantino 1. Enciclopedia costantiniana sulla figura e l'immagine dell'imperatore del cosiddetto Editto di Milano 313-2013, Roma 2013, voll. I, II, III

T. Canella, L’impero Costantiniano e i luoghi sacri, Bologna 2016.

- Read a book of their choice from:

• primary sources: C. Schmitt, Le categorie del politico, Bologna 2013, prima parte; E. Peterson, Il monoteismo come problema politico, Brescia 1983.
• historiography: P. Bettiolo – G. Filoramo, Il Dio mortale. Teologie politiche tra antico e contemporaneo, Brescia 2002; M. Scattola, Teologia politica, Bologna 2007; M. Rizzi, Cesare e Dio. Potere spirituale e potere secolare in Occidente, Bologna 2009; F. Monateri, Katechon. Filosofia, politica estetica, Torino 2023.

The only syllabus difference for non-attending students concerns the need to study all three books in the first section (i.e., T. Canella's monograph and the two works by Eusebius).

Teaching methods

Taught class; historical-critical analysis of sources; use of images and PowerPoint presentations (with maps, reproductions of manuscripts, etc.).

Assessment methods

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

Oral exam based on the subjects of the course and the books required. Students will be examined on their command of the specific vocabulary; on their knowledge of the topics of the course; on their ability to present clearly what has been learned; on their degree of acquisition of the methodological skills necessary for the study of ancient Christianity, illustrated during the course; on their ability to analyze problems and sources. Final Grade:

- knowledge of a very limited number of topics covered in the course, analytical skills that emerge only with the help of the teacher, poor command of vocabulary, poor clarity of exposition, methodological principles acquired in a barely sufficient way: grade 18-19;

- knowledge of a limited number of topics covered in the course, capacity for independent analysis little more than sufficient, sufficient command of vocabulary, fair clarity of exposition, methodological principles acquired at a fair level: grade 20-24;

- knowledge of a large number of topics covered in the course, ability to make independent choices of critical analysis, good command of specific terminology, good clarity of exposition, good competence in the methodological principles of the discipline: grade 25-29;

- very thorough knowledge of the topics covered in the course, excellent ability to make autonomous choices of critical analysis and logical connection, full command of specific terminology and excellent argumentation skills, high familiarity with the methodological principles of the discipline: grade 30-30L.

For the First Module, exam sessions are scheduled for the following months of the academic year:

February, March, May, June, July, September, October, December (one session for each of these months). Sessions are available for all students (if not otherwise noted in AlmaEsami).

As for the Second Module: January, February, May, June, July, September, November, December.

Teaching tools

Transcripts and scans of sources (uploaded among the teaching materials on Virtuale); images, PowerPoint presentations.

 

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Annese

See the website of Davide Dainese