Early Christian Literature

Early Christian Literature (a.k.a.: "Patristic") has a fourfold objective:
1) it intends to introduce students to the fundamental literary collection and history of ideas that emerged in Christian origins;
2) the course also intends to illustrate the main trajectories along which the continuing cultural relevance of these texts has been consolidated (from the New Testament collection to authors such as Origen of Alexandria, Eusebius of Cesarea, Augustine of Hippo, Girolamo di Stridone etc.) in the history of thought and the various literary cultures;
3) it aims to introduce the main methodological tools, characteristic of this Discipline and distinctive of its most recent critical developments;
4) Finally, this Discipline aims to show students the opportunities to undertake a research itinerary in this specific field of study.
This articulated methodological and knowledge heritage is aimed, ultimately, at allowing the student to interact critically with the documentary heritage studied by the Discipline and with the complex constellation of studies and researches that, around it, the different critical traditions have animated.

Knowledge
At the end of the course, the student should have acquired a basic critical knowledge of the primary literary dynamics, of the respective referring historical contexts (Sitz im Leben), of the most significant moments of this literary history and of thought. Alongside this, the course intends to provide critical skills concerning the Discipline's principal methodological resources to orientate the student within the critical analysis of this variegated and plural heritage.

Skills
This knowledge requires an initial competence with the main critical tools developed by and for research in the field of New Testament and "patristic" criticism.