Corsi di Studio del Dipartimento di Culture, Politica e Società

Consistently with the learning objectives of the degree in Intercultural Communication the laboratory will aim at providing a sound background in concepts useful for empirical analysis  of religious phenomena and knowledge for interpreting them in the forms in which they appear in globalised contemporary society. These criteria will be illustrated by means of the presentation of empirical research devoted to religious organizations such as new religious movements and groups, churches and monasteries as well as by means of documentary discussed with the students.

The laboratory will prepare students to use the acquired knowledge in order to:

-          read with awareness theoretical and empirical papers dedicated to religious questions;

-          develop independence of judgment and communicative ability in debating and interpreting critically important religious phenomena as well as their connections with cultural, social, economic and political phenomena.

At the end of the laboratory, students should possess a fair knowledge of the subjects taught, be able to show that they have mastered the specialist vocabulary and are able to use consciously and critically the knowledge acquired, being capable of establishing connections between concepts and the content of the various material supplied by the professor.

After the first part, where the main transformations which have dominated the contemporary religious landscape (from secularisation to individualisation, from fundamentalism to pluralism to globalisation, from conversions to new movements to alternative spiritualities) are introduced, empirical cases of religious organizations, from traditional churches to monasteries to new religious movements will be discussed, also with the participation of academic scholars and members of the organizations under observation.

In the academic year 2023/24 the course will be held at Campus Einaudi (in-classroom teaching).

Educational materials will be made available on-line (Moodle platform) for attending students. 

After the first part, where the main theoretical contributions which the classics have made to the sociology of religion are introduced by means of traditional teaching methods, in-depth workshops will be held on subjects connected with the teaching syllabus. They will take place in the second part of the laboratory aimed at introducing some empirical case-studies of religious organizations.

At the end of the course, knowledge of concepts, theories and empirical research, case studies analysed during the course, skills to critically apply concepts and theories to analyse empirical phenomena will be assessed through a paper, focused on the handbook and on the analysis of an empirical case.

In order to enable the learning process, students in need of clarifications will be encouraged to contact the lecturers by email (stefania.palmisano@unito.it) or within office hours scheduled for meeting students (wednesday, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., reservation required).

1.  A. Aldridge, Religion in the Contemporary World. A Sociological Introduction, Polity, 2013 (Chapters 3-4).

2. S. Palmisano e N. Pannofino, Contemporary Spiritualities: Enchanted Worlds of Nature, Wellbeing and Mystery in Italy, Routledge, London, 2020.

3. Various material supplied by the professor.

The workshop is intended, first and foremost, for students of Intercultural Communication for an enrollment of up to 50. Attendance is mandatory. All those interested are requested to register for the course.

Classes in A.Y. 2023/24 will be held from 9:00 to 12:00 a.m. on the following days: 10/04 - 17/04 - 24/04 - 08/05 - 15/05 - 22/05 in classroom H2.

Erasmus students may choose to do the examination in English, having previously agreed with the professor what volumes they should study.