Teaching code

4S000703

Teacher

Mariaclara Rossi

Coordinator

Mariaclara Rossi

Credits

6

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

M-STO/07 - HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY AND OF CHURCHES

Period

CuCi 1 B dal Nov 11, 2024 al Dec 21, 2024.

Courses Single

Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

AIMS The course aims to provide the methodological and cultural foundations for a study of the history of Christianity within the wider context of the history of the Western world. It sets out to develop the skills needed to: -read and interpret sources and use the tools of historical-religious scholarship; -critique sources in relation to the issues faced by historical-religious scholarship; -navigate specialised bibliography, in addition to the manual; -the ability to prepare a paper/presentation on a chosen topic (working on a specialised bibliography or on documents).

Prerequisites and basic notions

Elementary knowledge of Latin and knowledge of the general development of the history of Christianity

Program

Changing features of the Marian Cult in the Ancient and Medieval Church
Starting from the long history of dogmatic developments and the controversies that surrounded the figure of Mary and her cult during the centuries of Christianity, the course will shed light on a few key moments in the complex religious, theological and cultural history of the medieval Marian cult. We will in fact examine the theological reflections that came out of monasteries in the XI –XIII centuries and the development of mendicant orders around the figure of Mary. Finally, our attention will turn to the way the Marian cult was received in religious contexts by women and men during the Middle Ages.
Required reading for students attending the course:
-Adriana Valerio, Maria di Nazaret. Storia, tradizioni, dogmi, Bologna 2017.
-André Vauchez, Sulle orme del sacro. I santuari dell’Europa occidentale (IV-XVI secolo), Laterza, Roma-Bari 2023.
-Maria. Testi teologici e spirituali dal I al XX secolo, a cura della Comunità di Bose, con un saggio introduttivo di E. Bianchi, Milano 2000 (Texts to be agreed with the teacher)
-Gli studi di mariologia medievale. Bilancio storiografico. Atti del primo convegno mariologico della Fondazione Ezio Franceschini con la collaborazione della Biblioteca Palatina e del dipartimento di storia dell’Università di Parma (Parma, 7-8 novembre 1997), a cura di C.M. Piastra, Tavarnuzze, Firenze, 2001 (Texts to be agreed with the teacher)
-G. Cracco, Alle origini dei santuari mariani: il caso di Loreto, in Loreto crocevia religioso tra Italia, Europa e Oriente, a cura di F. Citterio e L. Vaccaro, Vago di Lavagno, Verona, 1997, pp. 97-164.
Non-attending students will replace the materials and sources provided in class with the following volume:
-K. Schreiner, Vergine, madre, regina. I volti di Maria nell’universo cristiano, Roma, Donzelli, 1994.

Didactic methods

Teaching methods
For students attending the course the main teaching methods will be the traditional lecture, interspersed with seminar type discussions where students will have an opportunity to raise particular questions and issues. In the advanced course there will also be a mid-course evaluation consisting of a paper/presentation to be given by the student on the topics developed in the lectures. During the lectures a collection of sources will be distributed and examined which will constitute part of the programme. Other bibliographic references useful for an exploration of the topic will be provided over the course of the lectures.
Activities supporting the teaching: seminars, meetings and conferences on the topics of Christianity recommended or organized by the teacher.

Learning assessment procedures

Examination methods: oral interviews
The oral exam will be an interview covering the topics that were dealt with during the lectures and expanded on in the study manuals. The interview will aim to determine:
-the students’ knowledge of the topic,
-their ability to use a specialised language,
-their ability to make connections between various arguments and to argue points in an appropriate manner
-their ability to read, contextualize and interpret a source

Evaluation criteria

In order to pass the examination, students must be able to develop the topics listed below, arguing with appropriate vocabulary from documents and/or data acquired during lectures or in the course of studying the bibliography. Topics required in order to pass the examination are the following:
-Mary in the Gospels
-The development of the figure of Mary in the apocryphal texts
-Mary in the Church Fathers
-Mary in the early Middle Ages
-Marian cult in the mendicant orders
-Mary in Islam
-The evolution of the main Marian dogmas
-Marian apparitions and the birth of Marian shrines

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

the grade will be determined on the basis of the evaluation criteria

Exam language

italiano