Italian Doctoral School of Religious Studies

Students who follow this curricular course will pursue the study of Islam, analyzed in its theological, historical-religious and philosophical development. It examines the plurality of forms of its ancient and modern manifestations, including the geographical dimension, beginning with linguistic skills appropriate to the different traditions. The educational objective is the study of Islam’s theological, juridical and hermeneutical traditions, the interaction between religion and culture, the doctrinal analysis of systems of faith and religious experience, the relationship between religion and social and political organization, worship and discipline, and political theology to train doctoral students to develop advanced historical, philological and hermeneutical skills in the field of religion. At a methodological level, this curriculum aims at a robust integration between theoretical-historical reflection, empirical work, fieldwork, and to train doctoral students in the analysis of both written and oral sources. Research and research training are grounded on the need to provide doctoral students with a broad historical knowledge of Islam and the ability to highlight the ties that connect its different forms to the elaboration of political theologies, the models of regulation of public life and cultural representations. This includes “gendered” approaches to the reading of the Quran, the Prophet’s hadiths and religious sources, Sunni and non-Sunni Islam, and the relationship between Islam, material culture and consumption.