B032120 - HISTORY OF RELIGIONS

Italian

The course aims to introduce students to the many “ways” of studying religion, from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. The main purpose of the course is to understand whether religion needs a special method due to its supposed special characteristics or whether instead its historical manifestations can be studied with the different methods by which cultural phenomena are investigated.

Leonardo Ambasciano, “An Unnatural History of Religions: Academia, Post-truth and the Quest for Scientific Knowledge”, London, Bloomsbury Academic, 2019
Carlin A. Barton, Daniel Boyarin, “Imagine no religion. How modern abstractions hide ancient realities”, New York, Fordham University Press, 2016
Pierre Bourdieu, “Il campo religioso. Con due esercizi”, ed. R. Alciati, E.R. Urciuoli, Torino, Accademia University Press, 2012
Daniel Dubuisson, “L’invention des religions. Impérialisme cognitif et violence épistémique”, Paris, CNRS Éditions, 2020
Steven Engler, Michael Stausberg (eds.), “The Routledge handbook of research methods in the study of religion”, London-New York, Routledge, 2022, second edition
Oliver Freiberger, “Considering comparison. A method for religious studies”, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2019
Armin W. Geertz, “Approcci cognitivi ed evoluzionistici alla religione”, ed. G.P. Viscardi, Bologna, Pàtron, 2020
Hans G. Kippenberg, "La scoperta della storia delle religioni. Scienza delle religioni e modernità”, trad. di G. Ghia, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2021, second edition (Or.: “Die Entdeckung Der Religionsgeschichte. Religionswissenschaft und Moderne”, München, Beck, 1997)
Tomoko Masuzawa, “The invention of world religions. Or, how European universalism was preserved in the language of pluralism”, Chicago-London, The University of Chicago Press, 2005
Natale Spineto, “Gli studi di storia delle religioni. Profilo storico”, Firenze, Le Monnier Università, 2023
Manuel A. Vásquez, “More than belief. A materialist theory of religion”, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: The exam schedule will be explained in the first class meeting.

This course has several primary learning objectives:
1. To provide a set of heuristic tools for understanding the differences between some methods for studying religions;
2. To study religion from a critical and historical perspective;
3. To learn how to apply this methodology to some primary sources related to different religious traditions;
4. To understand and cope with the methodologies and problems which pertain to the study of religious systems;
5. To learn how to pose good questions and choose the methods to answer them best;
6. To encourage the development of autonomous analytical skills to assess the quality of scholarly research in the history of religions.

No prerequisite, although a knowledge of European history between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is desirable.

The first five weeks will involve face-to-face lectures. The second part, as far as possible, will be conducted in seminar form, based on interactions between the teacher and students from readings of materials on the Moodle platform (mostly excerpts from the books cited in the “Reference Texts” section, along with primary literature).

Students who do not intend to attend the course, or who know they will not be able to attend at least 12 lectures, are requested to contact the teacher as soon as possible. They will have to agree on a different syllabus in order to take the examination.
Disabled students or those with learning disabilities are welcome to reach out to the 'UNIFI Include' desk to arrange the course in a manner that best suits their specific needs. It is important to share the agreed-upon measures with the teacher in a timely manner.

Individual oral examination (also for non-attending students, Erasmus and other exchange students). The examination consists of a dialogue with the teacher, who will ask questions to the candidate. The aim is to verify:
- The understanding and knowledge of the main themes presented in class during the lessons;
- The knowledge and correct application of methodologies pertaining specifically to the study of religion.

PLEASE NOTE:
The exam programme for students WHO ATTENDED THE CLASS will be explained during the first class.
The examination programme for students NOT ATTENDING CLASS is to be defined in advance with the teacher.

Week 1:
Course introduction || At the origins of the scientific study of religions: from theology to anthropology

Week 2:
Exercises in comparison: James Frazer and Friedrich Max Müller || Fortunes and misfortunes of comparison

Third week:
Between history and sociology: Émile Durkheim, Marcel Mauss, Max Weber and Pierre Bourdieu

Week 4:
Sciences of nature and sciences of the spirit: from Wilhelm Dilthey to the cognitive sciences of religion

Week 5:
The materialistic study of religion: Karl Marx and his legacy || Recap

Week 6:
In-class exercises

Quality education; reduce inequalities.