RELIGIONS AND ECOLOGY

The course is part of the interdisciplinary activities of the Master’s Degree Program in Environmental Humanities and the Master’s Degree Program in Religious Studies (inter-university, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the University of Padua).

Students who complete this course will be able to:
1) Demonstrate knowledge of the major themes and perspectives that exist at the intersection of religions and ecology. Students will also be able to identify the key figures and movements that comprise the study of ecotheology.
2) Be able to recall, and critically assess, the history and development of Christian, Islamic, and Jewish thought on the environment both as it has unfolded over time and also as it spans multiple disciplines, denominations, and geographic borders.
3) Communicate and debate developments and problems within the history of the three monotheistic religions and their relationship with the environmental crisis;
4) Develop the writing, research, and speaking skills needed to critically engage with academic discourse on religion and ecology.

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This course explores how Christianity, Islam, and Judaism have started responding to the environmental crisis. Environmental problems pose not just new challenges at the intersection of religion and science, or where humans connect with nature, but they also give rise to new social and spiritual problems as well. The environmental crisis raises, in other words, economic, social, biological, legal, moral, and theological concerns. This course interprets religious responses to ecological problems from an interdisciplinary perspective, although the historical approach is the predominant one: we will draw upon insights from theology, ethics, the history of religion, the sociology of religion, and philosophy. While we will examine the role that religious ideas and values play in shaping the three monotheistic attitudes and actions toward the environment, we will also consider the lived-experiences of Christians, Muslims, and Jews facing environmental problems. This course will introduce students to the major theologies, strategies, and practices for action that the three monotheistic traditions are creating (theoretical aspect) while simultaneously assessing the effectiveness of such strategies and examining the growth of pragmatic, on-the-ground responses (practical aspect).

Essays will be assigned and uploaded to Moodle.
A list of readings for the seminar format will be provided every week on Moodle.

Written and oral exam. Students are expected to complete the following:
• 1. Research paper, or 2. a Podcast. 1. Each student is required to write a research paper on the topic of his/her choosing (with the professor’s approval) which is due at least one week before the exam. Students may organize their paper around a particular religious environmental issue, but the main task of these papers is to report on a particular way of thinking about religion and the environment, to critically examine it, and to draw it into conversation with the broader themes and theories presented in this course. It could be an in-depth analysis of a set of primary sources, such as archival material, oral interviews, websites, and videos, or an investigation of a case study (teamwork is also possible, but individual contributions should be evident). Papers should be 8-10 pages, in the form of a Word document, use 12pt. font, 1,5-spaced, and should also have a cited list in addition to the paper following preferably the Chicago style. 2. It is also possible to produce a Podcast, working in teams. Additional instructions will be provided in class.
• Class presentation and active participation in class discussions. Students will be assigned to do a short in-class presentation on a chosen topic based on primary sources, discussed with the professor, and with visual support (i.e., PowerPoint) (~15-20 minutes). Students are encouraged to actively participate in the seminar part of classes.
• Optional. Every week the professor will suggest on Padlet a small “weekly task” (i.e., comment on a database; draw a conceptual map; watch a small video, etc.) that can be completed in order to enrich your experience. These tasks will be posted after class and it is not mandatory.
• Oral exam on the reading list and class notes.

scritto e orale

Il/la docente ha il dovere di vigilare affinché siano rispettate le regole di autenticità e originalità delle prove d'esame. Di conseguenza, nei casi in cui vi sia il sospetto di un comportamento irregolare, l'esame può prevedere un ulteriore approfondimento, contestuale alla prova d'esame, che potrà essere realizzato anche in modalità differente rispetto alle modalità sopra riportate.

The highest grade obtainable is 30/30 with honors (cum laude).
Grade Breakdown:
• Class participation + class presentation 30%
• Writing activity 40%
• Oral exam 30%

The course features discussions and critical thinking. Every class consists of a lecture by the professor followed by a class discussion on a weekly assigned primary source, written or visual, using a seminar format. During lectures, the professor will provide backgrounds and suggestions with which students can interpret the sources. Active learning tools (quizzes, short videos, polls, etc.) will be used while in class, as well as the flipped classroom method.

Consistent attendance is an important element for comprehending course materials and developing critical thinking during discussions.

Questo insegnamento tratta argomenti connessi alla macroarea "Cambiamento climatico e energia" e concorre alla realizzazione dei relativi obiettivi ONU dell'Agenda 2030 per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile