ERMENEUTICS SCRIPTURES

Course objectives

The course aims to provide knowledge and understanding of the methodological, critical and applicable aspects of the Discipline; it proposes geographical areas and sectorial perspectives in which related projects are activated; it shows the variability of fields of interest; it enables the student to master the specific topics in order to use them and apply them in other fields of study while using the correct specific language. With the acquired knowledge the student will be able to develop autonomous ability of connections with other disciplines in the various historical epochs and cultural contexts.

Channel 1
GAETANO LETTIERI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
Hermeneutics of Scripture: Augustine's Confessiones as Hermeneutics of the Subject This course aims to introduce the thirteen books of Augustine's Confessiones (397–400), a seminal work in Western thought and literature. The first part of the course will focus on identifying the work's central theological perspectives, which revolve around the doctrine of undeserved and predestined grace, "discovered" through a radical hermeneutics of Pauline grace. It will then explore Augustine's extraordinary autobiography, which offers a groundbreaking interpretation of the self, interiority, desire, and the Absolute as Spirit or Gift (Books I–IX). The second part of the course will delve into the analysis of the investigation of memory in Book X, the exploration of time in Book XI, and, finally, the interpretation of the hermeneutics of the Genesian hexameron as an allegory of justification by grace (Books XI–XIII).
Prerequisites
No prerequisites
Books
1) AGOSTINO, Le Confessioni, qualsiasi edizione con testo latino a fronte (ad esempio: Nuova Biblioteca Agostiniana, testo latino e trad. italiana presso il sito web http://www.sant-agostino.it/) 2) G. LETTIERI, L’altro Agostino. Ermeneutica e retorica della grazia dalla crisi alla metamorfosi del De doctrina christiana, Morcelliana, Brescia 2001. 3) G. LETTIERI, Il differire della metafora. Il transfert del desiderio da Gregorio di Nissa e Agostino a Ricoeur e Derrida, Edizioni Nuova Cultura, Roma 2018. 4) G. LETTIERI, Emozioni e amore patico in Agostino, in «Bruniana e Campanelliana» 24, 2018/1, 109-131. 5) G. LETTIERI, L’estaticità del cor nelle Confessiones di Agostino, di imminente pubblicazione.
Frequency
Attendance is recommended.
Exam mode
The examination is conducted through a traditional oral test. A minimum score of 18/30 is required to pass. The student must demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the topics and texts covered in the course, an understanding of the issues addressed, and the ability to apply independent reasoning with an appropriate methodological approach. To achieve a score of 30/30 with honors (cum laude), the student must demonstrate excellent knowledge of all the topics covered during the course and the ability to connect them in a logical and coherent manner.
Bibliography
1) AGOSTINO, Le Confessioni, qualsiasi edizione con testo latino a fronte (ad esempio: Nuova Biblioteca Agostiniana, testo latino e trad. italiana presso il sito web http://www.sant-agostino.it/) 2) G. LETTIERI, L’altro Agostino. Ermeneutica e retorica della grazia dalla crisi alla metamorfosi del De doctrina christiana, Morcelliana, Brescia 2001. 3) G. LETTIERI, Il differire della metafora. Il transfert del desiderio da Gregorio di Nissa e Agostino a Ricoeur e Derrida, Edizioni Nuova Cultura, Roma 2018. 4) G. LETTIERI, Emozioni e amore patico in Agostino, in «Bruniana e Campanelliana» 24, 2018/1, 109-131. 5) G. LETTIERI, L’estaticità del cor nelle Confessiones di Agostino, di imminente pubblicazione. 6) É Gilson, Introduzione allo studio di sant'Agostino, Marietti, Genova 2014 7) P. Brown, Agostino d'Ippona. Nuova edizione ampliata, Einaudi, Torino 2005
  • Lesson code1044802
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • Coursecorso|33546
  • CurriculumSingle curriculum
  • Year2nd year
  • Semester1st semester
  • SSDM-STO/07
  • CFU12
  • Subject areaAttività formative affini o integrative