Historical Studies

The course provides students with in-depth training on religious phenomena from antiquity to the contemporary age, in a comparative and historical perspective consistent with the Italian tradition of the discipline. The analysis develops in constant interaction with related fields (anthropology, philosophy, psychology, semiotics, sociology, cultural geography). The course offers up-to-date knowledge and methodological tools to understand the variety of religious systems and their historical evolution. It also presents regional and thematic case studies, introducing students to contexts where research projects coherent with the discipline can be developed. (Descriptor 1) Students learn to apply historical and religious knowledge in dialogue with other disciplinary domains ( history, literature, art history, cultural heritage, economics, and political studies), gaining the ability to interpret religious phenomena in a critical and interdisciplinary way. (Descriptor 2) The course fosters the autonomous development of interpretive judgments regarding texts, practices, and religious representations, even in complex and cross-cultural contexts. It encourages historiographical and methodological reflection on the discipline itself. (Descriptor 3) Students become familiar with the specialized vocabulary of the discipline and are enabled to effectively communicate its content and issues, both to expert audiences and to a broader public. (Descriptor 4) The teaching fosters a propensity for independent research, encouraging the development of personal study paths and critical depth, also in preparation for further academic training or professional and teaching activities. (Descriptor 5) The course also includes themes related to the methodology, historiography, and teaching of the History of Religions, understood as a field of comparative research and reflection on religious plurality across time and space.