Historical Studies

The course will focus on religious conversion as a fundamental instrument of domination in the early modern period. We will trace the history of conversions by examining the relationship between the rise of global Catholicism, the rise of empires, and the marginalization/persecution of minority religious groups since the Spanish expulsions of 1492. We will pay particular attention to missionary strategies in European and non-European territories, including in relation to the founding of the “Congregation de Propaganda Fide” (1622). We will compare the chronologies between what Rome planned and what was tried out in different contexts, including the Protestant Empires, also taking into account the (voluntary and involuntary) mobility of people and communities. Extending the reflections to the failures, uncertainties and aporias of the integration paths envisaged for converts will be an integral part of our work. At the methodological level, particular attention will be paid to the analysis of primary and secondary sources relevant to the topic. To this end, students will be asked to make short presentations in class on the texts collected in the volume by Petrolini, Lavenia, Pavone

Good knowledge of early modern history at an academic level (BA courses)

Required lectures: - C. Petrolini, V. Lavenia, S. Pavone, Sacre metamorfosi. Racconti di conversione tra Roma e il mondo in età moderna, Roma, Viella 2022 - N. Terpstra, Purezza e fede. Esuli religiosi nell’Europa moderna, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2019 One volume among: - F. Bethencourt, Strangers Within: The Rise and Fall of the New Christian Trading Elite, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2024 - L. Felici, G. Imbruglia, La tolleranza in età moderna. Idee, conflitti, protagonisti (sec. XVI-XVIII), Roma, Carocci, 2024 - C. Ferlan, Storia delle missioni cristiane. Dalle origini alla decolonizzazione, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2023 - T. Herzig, Storia di un ebreo convertito. Arte, criminalità e religione nell’Italia del Rinascimento, Roma, Viella, 2023 - M. Lazzari, I colori della malafede. Afromessicani, Inquisizione e razza in Nuova Spagna (1570-1650), Roma, Viella, 2023 - G. Pizzorusso, Propaganda fide. I. La congregazione pontificia e la giurisdizione sulle missioni, Roma, Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2022 - Ulinka Rublak (ed.), Protestant Empires. Globalizing the Reformations, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2020 - N. Zemon Davis, La doppia vita di Leone l’Africano, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2008

The examination is an oral interview on the topics covered in the course from the bibliography in the syllabus. Students are expected to demonstrate their ability to navigate the subject matter, including through a critical and independent examination of the historiography and relevant sources.

The course will consist of lectures, short presentations and seminars. Attending students will be asked to discuss short presentations in the classroom.