Religious Studies

This course provides an introductory survey of religion and politics in Islam, from its inception to the modern period. It introduces students to basic concepts and topics in Islamic Studies and societies, such as Islamic law, theology, governance, and politics.

This course covers selected topics in Qur’anic Studies: history of the text or specific themes in the Qur’an (gender issued, relations with others, ethical or legal issues). The course offers an examination of the principal different Muslim and Western approaches and opinions relevant to the chosen topic, illustrated with reference to an appropriate selection of primary sources in translation and in Arabic.

Although this course focuses on Islamic and Muslim feminisms (in the plural) it also cover women’s experiences with radical Islam, masculinities, LGBTQ+ Islam, and similar phenomena. The course consists of five modules. The first module studies Muslim migration to Denmark and explores Islam in Copenhagen through a field study in which students do photo-journalism. The second module focuses on female and LGBTQ+ imams in Europe. In the third module, students read and listen to artistic productions by Muslim minority women and men in the form of novels, poetry, and music. As part of this module students do a semi-structured interview with either a Muslim or a non-Muslim on private and public perceptions of Islam. The fourth module investigates current Muslim civil rights organizations, and the final module focus on Muslim female piousness.

The Zionist ideology and movement in its own terms, and in the context of modern Judaism. The course places Zionism in its historical and religious contexts, and examines its varieties. The Zionist movement is followed from its origins to the establishment of Israel. Related aspects of Israeli politics are then examined, with special reference to ideological and religious debates.

The course introduces the psychology of religion, focusing on insights from contemporary cognitive and evolutionary psychology into human religious belief and behavior. It explores questions such as: Can science explain religious belief? What do cognitive and evolutionary theories reveal about belief in God? Is religion universal or a product of human evolution? How does religious belief develop in childhood? What social functions does religion serve? The course combines research from psychology and religious studies to examine topics including the psychology of atheism, terrorism, and the effects of religion on prejudice and tolerance.

This course studies significant Christian theological works by Americans, paying careful attention both to their contributions to Christian theology and to their context within the United States. One theme that emerges repeatedly, although certainly not the only important theme, is the question of what makes one a “true Christian." The course covers topics such as: Revivals and the First Great Awakening; the Holiness Movement and the Second Great Awakening; the Bible, the Civil War, and white Christian debates about slavery; the Social Gospel; the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy and Pentecostalism; the World Wars and American power; American power, American oppression and liberation theology, and American culture and Christianity. 

Systematic theology seeks to think and speak both faithfully and carefully about God -- and everything in relation to God. Whereas biblical studies often focuses on the original meaning of individual biblical texts, systematic theology unpacks key Christian ideas and investigates how they relate to each other. It asks questions like such as, How can God be truly sovereign and humans truly free? Does God choose or elect some people -- and if so, for what purpose, and how does God remain fair and just? How can God be both the one God and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? How can the execution of an innocent person (Jesus) lead to the salvation of others? How can there be so much suffering in this world if God is truly good?

This course introduces Christian systematic theology by exploring key questions like these in conversation with excerpts from important texts in the Christian tradition. Along the way, the class considers the nature of the academic discipline of "systematic theology." How should it proceed, methodologically? How does it relate to other disciplines? What kind of knowledge can it produce? How does it relate to the Christian life? The ultimate goal is that all participants in the class, whether Christian or non-Christian, sharpen their thinking about Christianity and Christian theology through careful engagement with texts and discussions with one another.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The program deals with the history of the Ottoman Empire with an emphasis on its geography, frontiers, and relations based on certain units/themes of study. The program follows a chronological approach and a thematic division of topics. The themes are chosen to elaborate on watershed moments in the history of the Empire, and to reflect on the Empire’s role in global events.

After completing the course, students have a detailed historical knowledge of the main cultural, social, and political transformations that took place in the Islamic world and in the Middle East from the 13th century to the contemporary era. They have analytical skills and are familiar with the theoretical, methodological and technical tools of the historical-religious disciplines and the social sciences for the study of relations between confessions and religions in the context of the Ottoman Empire, with attention to the socio-political implications of the interaction among groups. They are able to evaluate religious phenomena and dynamics in local and global socio-cultural contexts, to identify socio-cultural matrix of religions, as well as connections, developments, persistences, and transformations of religious phenomena in complex societies such as those of the Ottoman Empire and to address and solve issues related to the management of religious pluralism. They apply investigative methodologies to critically engage with primary and secondary sources useful for exploring the significance of the Ottoman Empire for world history. They are able to communicate in written and oral form using the different models and registers of communication of the historical disciplines and to give form, including project design, to the results of research, supporting with complete evidence the information on which they base their conclusions and accounting for the methodologies used. They know how to communicate, edit and publish research results including digital data.