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Religions and Cultures (Inter-University Course)

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What is the objective of the course? What is it?
What does it train you for?

This course of study in Religions and Cultures is an inter-university joint master’s degree between the University of Palermo and the Pontifical Theological Faculty of Sicily, with teaching contributions from the Foundation for Religious Sciences (FSCIRE, Bologna). The course offers keys to the interpretation of current religious phenomena by analysing the world religion history, hermeneutics and cultural representations, with specific reference to the Mediterranean and the Near-East. Often referred to as the “capital of the Mediterranean”, Palermo is a cultural and religious crossroads whose history has alternated between conflict and peaceful cohabitation: it is an ideal location for the course.

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What do you learn?

The educational programme of this course of study involves the following areas: • sources and methods in the history of religions and culture; • hermeneutics of Christian, Jewish, and Islamic religious texts; • the geopolitics, anthropology, and sociology of religious phenomena; • inter-religious dialogue and conflict; • epistemological-doctrinal elaboration in philosophical and theological contexts; • literary and artistic representations; • ethical-juridical religious system codifications. Internships at institutions and/or organisations active in inter-religious contexts or in the conservation/communication of the religious heritage aim to refine students’ professional skills.

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What can you do with it?

The degree provides access to the following competition classes for school teaching, subject to possession of the specific ECTS: A-11 (ex 51/A); A-12 (ex 50/A); A-13 (ex 52/A); A-18 (ex 36/A); A-19 (ex 37/A); A-21 (ex 39/A); A-22 (ex 43/A); A-23; A-54 (ex 61/A). Career opportunities include: • study and research on religious phenomena at public and private research centres and religious science institutes; • religious or religion-related publishing; • activities requiring expertise in inter-religious communication and relations and specific problems in multi-denominational social contexts, such as those related to cultural mediation; • university teaching and research.