OVERVIEW

This course provides an overview of the history of Christianity from its origins to the present day, exploring the evolution of religious cultures and ecclesiastical institutions in relation to wider social and political transformations. Special attention will be given to pivotal developments in Western Christianity, including the emergence of the Roman Catholic model between the 11th and 13th centuries, the Protestant Reformation and the Tridentine age, and the responses of Christian Churches to the major challenges of the modern and contemporary eras, from secularization to globalization.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The objective of this course is to provide students with a basic understanding of the two thousand-year-old Christian story as well as the critical tools they'll need in order to evaluate historiographical debates and analyze religious history sources.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The course aims to:

• provide an understanding of the main stages and developments in the history of Christianity;

• foster an appreciation of the significance of the religious dimension in political, cultural, and social processes;

• develop the ability to contextualize Christian cultures within a long-term historical perspective;

• introduce students to the principal themes, historiographical approaches, and interpretive categories of the history of Western Christianity;

• equip students with the tools necessary for the critical analysis of sources for religious history, including textual, documentary, visual, and audiovisual sources;

• develop transferable skills related to collaboration and teamwork.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

a) demonstrate knowledge of the main themes, issues, and methods in the history of Christianity;

b) engage with the essential historiographical literature related to the topics covered in the course;

c) apply the knowledge acquired to the analysis of specific historical case studies, identifying connections among the historical and religious processes examined;

d) recognize and interpret different types of sources for the history of Christianity within their historiographical context;

e) adopt a critical and informed approach grounded in the categories of historical analysis and attentive to avoiding apologetic or polemical interpretations;

f) understand and explain the historical development of religious and theological doctrines;

g) use appropriate disciplinary terminology and concepts to articulate and support their views in oral communication;

h) interact effectively in group settings, demonstrating collaborative attitudes, constructive communication, and openness to overcoming prejudice (advanced social competence).

PREREQUISITES

None.

TEACHING METHODS

Teaching consists mainly of lectures, which include discussions, readings and the analysis of iconographic sources. Interacting with the lecturer and other students is an integral part of this teaching method, aiming to promote critical thinking, consolidate knowledge, and help students acquire discipline-specific language.

Regular attendance is therefore recommended.

Classes will be held in person. Only those who make an express request at the beginning of the course due to specific needs (e.g. working students or those who are objectively unable to attend) will be able to follow the classes remotely via streaming and recordings on Microsoft Teams. If you do this, you will be considered as not attending for all purposes (including for the purposes of the required exam texts).

Information and materials relating to the course will be made available on the Aulaweb platform.

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Students with disabilities or specific learning disorders (DSA)

Students with disabilities or with a Specific Learning Disorder (DSA) can find information on how to request services, compensatory tools, accommodations, and specific assistive aids in the document available at the following link: University of Genoa – Disability and DSA Forms and Documentation.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

This course provides the critical tools necessary for understanding 'Christianities' as a plural, constantly evolving historical phenomenon. The introductory section examines the history of Christianity as academic discipline. It will begin with the debate surrounding the historical Jesus and the processes that led to Christianity emerging as a distinct religion from Judaism.

Adopting a historical, thematic and diachronic approach, this course retraces the main stages in the history of Christianity. It focuses on fundamental aspects of its long-term development, such as liturgies, forms of worship and sacred art, models of sainthood, the relationship between religion and political power, forms of ecclesiastical governance (with a particular focus on the Catholic Church), movements of dissent and processes of reform, and the construction and representation of gender.

The course is divided into the following major thematic units:

1. The historical Jesus and the origins of Christianity.
2. The Constantinian era and the Christianisation of Europe.
3. 'Holy Father': the Gregorian paradigm and the emergence of Roman Catholicism.
4. The Protestant Reformation: genesis and developments.
5. The Tridentine paradigm: Catholic Reform, the Counter-Reformation and Confessionalisation.
6. After 1789: the rise of ultramontane 'new Catholicism'.
7. The Modern World and Global Christianities.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

A. Reference book

• P. Cozzo - A. Nicolotti, Storia del cristianesimo e delle Chiese, Milan, Le Monnier Università, 2025 (Chapter 8 and Approfondimenti are optional).

B. Notes, slides and course texts made available on Aulaweb.

C. One book from the following:

• R. Alciati, Monaci d'Occidente. Secoli IV-IX, Rome, Carocci, 2018.
• M. Al Kalak, Mangiare Dio. Una storia dell’eucarestia, Turin, Einaudi, 2021.
• M. Al Kalak, Fuoco e fiamme. Storia e geografia dell'inferno, Turin, Einaudi, 2024.
• M. Bacci, I volti di Cristo. Immagini della santità tra Oriente e Occidente, Rome, Carocci, 2025.
• M. Benedetti (ed.), Eretiche ed eretici medievali, Rome, Carocci, 2023.
• G. Bonaccini - G. Mariotti, Paolo di Tarso, un ebreo del suo tempo, Rome, Carocci, 2025.
• T. Caliò, Una terra di martiri. Narrazioni agiografiche e industria culturale nell’Italia contemporanea, Rome, Viella, 2022.
• F. Camilletti, Italia lunare. Gli anni Sessanta e l’occulto, Oxford, Peter Lang, 2018.
• G.M. Cantarella, L'impero di Cluny. I monaci alla corte celeste, Roma, Carocci, 2025.
• M. Caponi, Una Chiesa in guerra. Sacrificio e mobilitazione nella diocesi di Firenze, 1911-1928, Rome, Viella, 2018.
• J. Cellini, Alcide De Gasperi. La cultura di un politico cattolico, Rome, Carocci, 2025.
• V. Ciciliot, Donne sugli altari. Le canonizzazioni femminili di Giovanni Paolo II, Rome, Viella, 2018.
• P. Cozzo, In cammino. Una storia del pellegrinaggio cristiano, Rome, Carocci, 2021.
• V. De Cesaris - D. Menozzi - A. Possieri - A. Roccucci (eds.), Pensare Francesco. Storia, memoria e uso politico, Bologna, il Mulino, 2025.
• E. De Martino, Sud e magia, a cura di M. Massenzio e F. Dei, Torino, Einaudi, 2024.
• M. Faggioli, Leone XIV e la Chiesa globale, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2026.
• M. Firpo - F. Biferali, Immagini ed eresie nell'Italia del Cinquecento, Rome-Bari, Laterza, 2016.
• C. Furlan, Storia delle missioni cristiane. Dalle origini alla decolonizzazione, Bologna, il Mulino, 2023.
• L. Gazzetta, Virgo et Sacerdos. Idee di sacerdozio femminile tra Ottocento e Novecento, Rome, Edizioni di storia e letteratura, 2020.
• F. Hartog, La nazione, la religione, l'avvenire. Sulle tracce di Ernest Renan, edited by F. Mores, Milan, Raffaello Cortina, 2024. 
• S. Lesti, Il mito delle radici cristiane dell'Europa. Dalla Rivoluzione francese ai giorni nostri, Turin, Einaudi, 2024.
• A.E. McGrath, Giovanni Calvino. Il riformatore e la sua influenza sulla cultura occidentale, Turin, Claudiana, 2009 (ed. or. A Life of John Calvin. A Study in the Shaping of Western Culture, Oxford-Cambridge, B. Blackwell, 1990).
• J.T. McGreevy, Catholicism: A Global History from the French Revolution to Pope Francis, New York, W. W. Norton & Company, 2022. 
• G. Maifreda, Sono una strega. Confessioni del sabba nel passato europeo, Turin, Einaudi, 2025.
• G. Meduri, Quarant'anni di architettura sacra in Italia. 1900-1940. Le questioni, il dibattito, le polemiche, Rome, Gangemi, 2016.
• D. Menozzi, "Crociata". Storia di un’ideologia dalla Rivoluzione francese a Bergoglio, Rome, Carocci, 2020.
• P. Naso, Dio benedica l'America. Il fondamentalismo cristiano dai creazionisti a Donald Trump, Turin, Claudiana, 2026.
• J.W. O'Malley, Che cosa è successo nel Vaticano II, Milan, Vita e Pensiero, 2010 (ed. or.  What happened at Vatican II, Cambridge, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2008).
• M.A. Paiano, I cattolici, la guerra e la pace in età contemporanea, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2025.
• R. Perin, La radio del papa. Propaganda e diplomazia nella seconda guerra mondiale, Bologna, il Mulino, 2017 (nuova ed. The Popes on Air. The History of Vatican Radio from Its Origins to World War II, New York, Fordham University Press, 2024).
• P. Prodi, Il paradigma tridentino. Un'epoca della storia della Chiesa, introduction by M. Cavarzere, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2024.
• A. Prosperi, Tribunali della coscienza. Inquisitori, confessori, missionari, Turin, Einaudi, 2009.
• I. Veca, Il mito di Pio IX. Storia di un papa liberale e nazionale, Rome, Viella, 2019.
• G. Vian, Il modernismo. La Chiesa cattolica in conflitto con la modernità, Rome, Carocci, 2012.
• R. Wittman, Ricostruire la Chiesa. San Paolo fuori le mura nella Roma dell’Ottocento, Rome, Viella, 2023.

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Attending Students (9 CFU)

Students are required to prepare the following materials: A + B + 1 book from Group C.

Non-Attending Students (9 CFU)

Students are required to prepare the following materials: A + B + 2 books from Group C.

Attending Students (6 CFU)

Students are required to prepare the following materials: B + 1 book from Group C.

Non-Attending Students (6 CFU)

Students are required to prepare the following materials: A + B + 1 book from Group C.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Week commencing 15 February 2027, according to the course schedule.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The oral exam will assess achievement of the learning objectives, particularly in the following areas: a) Mastery of the topics covered; b) Degree of critical awareness; c) Ability to apply knowledge to a specific topic; d) Use of the specialised language of the discipline.