Historical-religious and anthropological studies

The curriculum in Historical-religious and Anthropological studies proposes to develop research on complex cultural and social phenomena and transformations. The course offers the opportunity to acquire methods of ethnographic research and to develop comparative theoretical approaches and/or a theoretical and methodological thought on Eastern and Western religious traditions of the ancient world and the modern age.
Religious studies include research on religions in their founding moments as well as in mature periods, as well as internal debate, controversies and negotiations with other cultural and religious subjects, both in communities and in the interpretation of individual experiences.
As for anthropological studies, particular attention is paid to the documentation and analysis of the dynamics of encounter and conflict in cross-cultural contexts, the analysis of the continuity and discontinuity between past and present, of response and re-signification practices in colonial and postcolonial contexts.

• theories and methods of historical-religious research
• religious cultures of the Mediterranean and the ancient and late ancient Near East
• religion, medicine and healing (Ancient Mediterranean, Middle East, India)
• history of theological thought, ecclesial structures and Christian spirituality (Rome, Byzantium, Christian East, Latin West)
• religious and political conflicts in the history of modern and contemporary Christianity
• history of religions and philosophies of India
• folklore, and popular culture in South Asia

• ecosystems, landscapes and anthropology of the environment
• urban anthropology, migration and work
• indigenous and area studies
• religious dynamics and spirituality
• anthropology of body, gender and health
• anthropology of violence, conflicts and institutions
• ethnography and research methods
• anthropology of colonial and post-colonial processes
• museums and heritage processes
• anthropology, ritual, art and performance