The student will acquire in-depth and detailed knowledge of relevant issues in the history of Christianity at different times, through the analysis of different types of sources and the comparison with secondary literature. It will acquire scientific research tools and methodological principles necessary for reading the sources. The student will also acquire critical skills in the collection and interpretation of data, in order to express and communicate in a scientifically correct language independent judgments on the analyzed issues.
teacher profile teaching materials
I Module (Carla Noce)
Gomp: 20702466 e 20702465-1
Course title 2020-2021: Purity and pollution, guilt and sin, contamination and contagion in Ancient Christianity
Christians inherit from the Jewish world a corpus of Scriptures that they reinterpret in the light of Jesus' message: among them, a prescriptive book like Leviticus which, through a sophisticated classification system, regulates rites and behaviors. The detailed description of the sources of pollution (unclean animals, corpses of animals, blood, diseases such as leprosy, illicit sexual intercourse, etc.) and the rites necessary to restore the state of purity, acquires, in Christian reading, new and multiple meanings, expressions of different Christianities. These interpretations are rooted in specific conceptions of the relationships that must exist between God, the world and man and are often able to provide the faithful with answers to the questions raised by personal misfortune, natural disasters, illnesses; furthermore, they contribute to determine an alternative religious system to Judaism and the Greco-Roman religious world.
The course aims to focus attention on some texts - chosen as emblematic of different conceptions and practices - and to reconstruct their cultural assumptions through an appropriate historical contextualization.
Attending students
Bibliographic material will be indicated and provided during the course.
Non-attending students
P. Brown, The Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity, Columbia University Press, 2008
J. Le Goff, Une Histoire du corps au Moyen-Age, Liana Lévi, Paris 2003.
Programme
The course consists of 2 modules of 6 CFU (= 12 CFU), the first by Prof. Carla Noce (= Storia del cristianesimo antico LM), the second by Dr. Matteo Mennini().I Module (Carla Noce)
Gomp: 20702466 e 20702465-1
Course title 2020-2021: Purity and pollution, guilt and sin, contamination and contagion in Ancient Christianity
Christians inherit from the Jewish world a corpus of Scriptures that they reinterpret in the light of Jesus' message: among them, a prescriptive book like Leviticus which, through a sophisticated classification system, regulates rites and behaviors. The detailed description of the sources of pollution (unclean animals, corpses of animals, blood, diseases such as leprosy, illicit sexual intercourse, etc.) and the rites necessary to restore the state of purity, acquires, in Christian reading, new and multiple meanings, expressions of different Christianities. These interpretations are rooted in specific conceptions of the relationships that must exist between God, the world and man and are often able to provide the faithful with answers to the questions raised by personal misfortune, natural disasters, illnesses; furthermore, they contribute to determine an alternative religious system to Judaism and the Greco-Roman religious world.
The course aims to focus attention on some texts - chosen as emblematic of different conceptions and practices - and to reconstruct their cultural assumptions through an appropriate historical contextualization.
Core Documentation
Bibliography:Attending students
Bibliographic material will be indicated and provided during the course.
Non-attending students
P. Brown, The Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity, Columbia University Press, 2008
J. Le Goff, Une Histoire du corps au Moyen-Age, Liana Lévi, Paris 2003.
Type of delivery of the course
Course attendance is not mandatory but highly recommended. During the lessons, there will be methods to assess the profit through the interaction between teacher and students and the elaboration (and eventually presentation in class) of a short paper.Type of evaluation
Final exam: The final exam will be oral and will focus on three questions. For attending students one of these will be replaced by a discussion on the results of the short paper.