Archaeology

Live Children, Dead Children: what does the Christian religion say about children? The earliest followers of Jesus and then the early Christians shared the conventional perception on childhood. Their behaviour and practices, both towards the life and death of children, did not differ substantially from those of the surrounding environment. Nevertheless, the attitude of Jesus in the Gospels, feasts in honour of little martyrs, preaching more and more interested in the salvific value of the infantia Christi, pilgrimages ad loca sancta and a first iconography of Christmas suggested a new consideration for the early age and new practices. The course will provide outlines of this evolution, proposing a journey through history, literature, archaeology and iconography.

Basic knowledge of Ancient world

1. E. Zocca, Infanzia e santità. Un difficile incontro alle origini del cristianesimo, (Sanctorum. Scritture, pratiche, immagini, 7), Roma, Viella, 2020; 2. E. Zocca, Acerba funera. Il cristianesimo antico di fronte alla morte infantile, in «Augustinianum» in «Augustinianum» , 61,2 (2021) ) pp.527-552.(on classroom at the end of the course) 3. P. Siniscalco, Il cammino di Cristo nell’impero romano, Bari Laterza, 2009 Lecture Slides will be available in PDF on classroom at the end of the course

Lectures, workshops, seminars, excursions

Attendance is Highly recommended but not mandatory.

Assessment of the student’s performance will take into account clarity of presentation, the precision of contents and relevance of contents, well-spoken style. The oral examination aims to ascertain whether or not the announced competencies have been formed to the level required by the minimum learning outcomes and if the indicated bibliography has been adequately studied and understood.

- A.M.G. Capomacchia - E. Zocca (eds.), Eroiche fanciulle, sante bambine, cattive ragazze, Roma, SUE (in press) - A.M.G. Capomacchia - E. Zocca (eds), Il corpo del bambino tra realtà e metafora nelle culture antiche, Morcelliana Brescia, 2017 - A.M.G. Capomacchia - E. Zocca (eds), Liminalità infantili, Morcelliana,Brescia, 2019(= “Henoch” 41/1). - R. Aasgaard et al. (eds) (2018), Childhood in History: Perceptions of Children in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds, Routledge, London, New York. - O.M. Bakke (2005), When Children Became People: The Birth of Childhood in Early Christianity, - R. Barcellona, R. (2023), Nascite, infanzie e altri miracoli. Letture apocrife fra Oriente e Occidente, Rubettino, Soveria Mannelli. - Beaumont, L.A., et al. (eds) (2021), Children in Antiquity: Perspectives and Experiences of Childhood in the Ancient Mediterranean, Routledge, London and New York. - Dasen, V. (ed.), (2004), Naissance et petite enfance dans l’Antiquité, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen - Horn, C., Phenix, R. (eds) (2009), Children in Late Ancient Christianity, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen. - Horn, C.B., Martens, J.W. (2009), “Let the Little Children Come to Me”: Childhood and Children in Early Christianity, The Catholic University Press, Washington. - Il bambino nelle fonti cristiane. XLV Incontro di Studiosi dell’Antichità Cristiana (Roma 11-13 maggio 2017) (2019), Nerbini, Lugano. - Laes, Ch., Vuolanto, V. (2017), Children and Everyday Life in the Roman and Late Antique World, Routledge, New York. - Moraw, S., Keiburg, A. (eds) (2014), Mädchen im Altertum / Girls in Antiquity, Waxman, Münster-New York.

Lectures, workshops, seminars, excursions