Learning objectives

Students will be initiated into a critical approach to the judgments provided by different societies on religious phenomena and will therefore be compared with a series of texts and documents describing rituals and practices. The documentation analyzed will propose a broad diachronic vision of the phenomena, such as to allow an evaluation of the different modalities in which they were conceived over time and in different cultures. At the end of the course students must be able to demonstrate understanding of the fundamental problems dealing with in the course, to know how to critically analyze both the sources and the iconographies examined, to expose their arguments in a clear and articulated way.

Prerequisites and basic notions

No prerequisites are required

Program

Religion is one of the most powerful narrative instruments in contemporary public discourse. When sacred texts — the Bible, the Qur'an, the Torah — enter public and political debate, they do not remain insulated from communication: they are selected, reinterpreted and instrumentalised in order to construct identities, legitimise choices and mobilise communities. For those studying communication, understanding these mechanisms is essential.

The course addresses Judaism, Christianity and Islam along two parallel axes: (1) the history and institutional consolidation of each religion, with particular attention to sacred texts and their interpretations; (2) three thematic constants that unite (and distinguish) the three traditions — the figure of God, the concept of People/community, and holy war — examined both within the historical tradition and in their contemporary manipulations.

Specific objectives:

By the end of the course, students will have acquired a basic knowledge of the historical and theological contexts of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with attention to sacred texts and their principal interpretations.

They will be able to recognise how religious texts (Torah, Gospels, Qur'an) have been interpreted differently over time, and how, in contemporary discourse, such interpretations respond to specific rhetorical strategies.

They will develop a critical capacity for reading public discourse that draws on religious language, learning to identify the rhetorical mechanisms behind the manipulation of sacred texts.

Finally, they will be able to analyse a simple contemporary case of religious instrumentalisation, connecting it to the historical sources and identifying the interpretative mechanism at work.

TOPICS AND CONTENTS

Through the reading and discussion of a range of sources and historiographical contributions, the following topics will be addressed:

I. Religion in contemporary discourse: authority, manipulation, identity
II. JUDAISM: from its origins to its institutional consolidation; the sacred texts and their interpretation
III. CHRISTIANITY: the historical Jesus, the Christian Bible and its interpretations
IV. ISLAM: Muhammad and the birth of Islam; the Qur'an and its interpretations
V. COMPARATIVE THEMES AND CONTEMPORARY CASES: the Book, God, Good and Evil, Umma/people/Church, the other, war

Bibliography

Didactic methods

Classes will alternate lectures and seminar discussions. Each historical unit (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) will include a contextual presentation, readings, and commentary on key passages from sacred texts in Italian translation. Comparative themes (God, People, Holy War) will be addressed through parallels and contrasts, always paying attention to the rhetorical and interpretative mechanisms at work. Short case studies will serve as opportunities for active discussion, where students will learn to recognize how religious texts are selected and reinterpreted in contemporary public discourse.

Learning assessment procedures

The final proof is oral: students must demonstrate knowledge of historical contexts, the ability to critically read a religious passage in context, and the ability to analyze a simple case of contemporary exploitation by connecting it to the sources studied. The exam includes a final oral examination. Students must demonstrate developed analytical skills (historical and rhetorical), argumentation, and the ability to connect various arguments, as well as mastering the specific language of the discipline.

Evaluation criteria

The examination is oral and consists of a single final interview, covering the entire syllabus and the materials listed in the bibliography.
The interview assesses, first of all, knowledge of the historical and theological contexts of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with particular attention to the sacred texts of each tradition and to their principal interpretative traditions. Students are then required to read a religious passage critically, situating it within its context of production and within the history of its interpretation, and to analyse a straightforward contemporary case of religious instrumentalisation, connecting it to the sources studied and identifying the interpretative mechanism and the rhetorical strategies at work.
Further elements of assessment are argumentative ability — understood as coherence, clarity and logical order in exposition, and as the capacity to support one's claims on the basis of sources and scholarship —, the ability to establish connections between the various topics of the course, and in particular between the comparative themes (God, people/community, holy war) and the historical contexts of the individual traditions, and finally command of the specific terminology of the discipline, with correct and informed use of historiographical and confessional categories.
The examination is passed with a grade of no less than 18/30. The pass threshold requires knowledge of the core elements of the course and an orderly exposition; higher grades presuppose progressively greater precision in the reading of sources, independence in establishing connections, and command of terminology; distinction (lode) is reserved for examinations combining full command of the content, rigorous argumentation and originality in the critical analysis of the cases discussed.
There is no difference in the assessment criteria between attending and non-attending students.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The final grade is expressed out of thirty and corresponds to the assessment of the oral interview, which constitutes the sole examination and covers the entire syllabus and the materials listed in the bibliography. The interview assesses both knowledge of the course content and the student's capacity for analysis, argumentation and the establishing of connections, as well as command of the specific terminology of the discipline, in accordance with the criteria set out above.
The examination is passed with a grade of no less than 18/30. The pass threshold requires knowledge of the core elements of the course and an orderly exposition; higher grades presuppose progressively greater precision in the reading of sources, independence in establishing connections, and command of terminology; distinction (lode) is reserved for examinations combining full command of the content, rigorous argumentation and originality in the critical analysis of the cases discussed.
There is no difference in the composition of the final grade between attending and non-attending students.

Exam language

Italiano