Religious Minorities in Early Modern Europe

The virtual part will be taught on Fridays and will be prepared on a dedicated page of Aix-Marseille University’s Moodle platform. There will be an introduction followed by 5 days of online classes (2 classes per day, one morning, one afternoon) given by two instructors working on different geographical zones and different religious communities. See attached document for specific details about each class. The sessions will be divided into several units and allow plenty of time for discussion and Q&A. Introduction: 19 April 2024 (14.00-16h00 CET) The introduction will first provide a general overview of the BIP, its contents, schedule and assessment. In the second part, the participants will introduce their respective classes, focusing on definitions of religious minorities in early modern Europe as well as the main sources and methodologies. Class 1: ‘Encounters’, 26 April 2024 (2-hour session in the morning, 10.00-12.00 CET, and 2-hour session in the afternoon, 14.00-16.00 CET) The aim is to question the notion of encounters between different religions, as well as coercion and forced conversions. Two case studies will be proposed: the conversion of indigenous peoples in Scandinavia and the baptism of Muslim slaves in Italy. Instructors: Karin Sennefelt (Stockholm) and Serena Di Nepi (La Sapienza). Class 2: ‘Violence and conflicts’, 3 May 2024 (2-hour session in the morning, 10.00-12.00 CET, and 2-hour session in the afternoon, 14.00-16.00 CET). Beyond forced conversions, the question of violence, persecutions and conflicts arises. This session will address intra- and inter-religious conflicts, through the examples of the Jews in Italy and the Huguenots in France. Instructors: Jérémie Foa (Aix-Marseille) and Andrea Zappia (La Sapienza). Class 3: ‘Toleration’, 10 May 2024 (2-hour session in the morning, 10.00-12.00 CET, and 2-hour session in the afternoon, 14.00-16.00 CET). These two classes will focus on two case studies of the practice of religious toleration, the toleration of Christianity in the Ottoman Empire and the toleration of Protestant dissenters in the British Isles. Instructors: Renate Dürr (Tübingen) and Anne Dunan-Page (Aix-Marseille). Class 4: ‘The material culture of persecuted minorities’, 17 May 2024 (2-hour session in the morning, 10.00-12.00 CET, and 2-hour session in the afternoon, 14.00-16.00 CET). Religious minorities can also be studied through material culture and the use of spaces, objects or clothing. The class will propose a reflection on the material turn in religious studies and will examine more specifically the question of religious practice in periods of persecution. This session will focus on Anglophone and Iberian spaces. Instructors: Cristina Bravo Lozano (Autónoma) and Laurence Lux-Sterritt (Aix-Marseille). Class 5: ‘Narratives of religious experience’, 24 May 2024 (2-hour session in the morning, 10.00-12.00 CET, and 2-hour session in the afternoon, 14.00-16.00 CET). Finally, we will situate religious minorities in a history of experience in the early modern period and study how this experience is translated in a wide variety of ego documents in England, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Instructors: Xenia von Tippelskirch (Goethe Universität Frankfurt) and Tessa Whitehouse (Queen Mary University of London). Learn about the lives and experiences of persecuted Muslim, Jewish, Catholic and Protestant men and women throughout Europe, from slaves to indigenous peoples, and explore the ways today’s multiconfessional societies have been shaped by their religious past.

Application Deadline

Virtual Part starting date 2024-04-19

Virtual Part closing date 2024-05-24

Total student workload 150

Specific field of studies No

Pre-requisite for selection CV Motivation Letter

Academic pre-requisites for applicants This course is open to MA and PhD students. A previous degree in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) disciplines is highly recommended, such as: modern languages, literature or comparative literature, history, cultural studies, philosophy, political science, sociology, anthropology, art history, architecture, media studies, etc. However, we will also consider applicants from other subjects, provided they can testify to a previous scholarly engagement with religious issues and an ability to work with SSH methodologies.

Physical Part starting date 2024-05-27

Physical Part Description The physical part will be devoted to learning how to prepare a research project linked to early modern religion and how to present it to a wider audience. Three excursions will help understand the way the collective memory of religious minorities has developed and shaped the local heritage and landscape. Students will be given the opportunity to blog on their experience. - DAY 1, 27 May 2024: introduction, followed by morning and afternoon workshops on the research projects. Each student will be asked to choose a research project in connection with the topics and sources studied during the virtual part. According to the topics, the students will then be divided into small groups and guided by one or two instructors. This first day will take place on campus. - DAY 2, 28 May 2024: morning workshop in small groups on research projects, followed by presentations of Jewish and Catholic minorities to prepare the excursions. Excursion to Carpentras (afternoon). This will have two components (pending confirmation): a visit to the bibliothèque Inguimbertine to discover the early modern collections, religious printed and archival sources; a visit to the Jewish cemetery and Carpentras synagogue, the oldest synagogue in France still in activity. - DAY 3, 29 May 2024: morning and afternoon workshops in small groups on research projects, followed by presentations of Protestant and Huguenot minorities to prepare the excursions. This day will take place on campus. - DAY 4, 30 May 2024: oral presentations of research project (morning). Excursion to Pays Vaudois, in the Lubéron area of Provence and sites of Waldensian massacres (afternoon). - DAY 5, 31 May 2024: oral presentation of research projects, followed by a 1-hour assessment (morning). Excursion (afternoon). This last excursion will take us to Aigues-Mortes and la tour de Constance, the site where many Huguenot women were imprisoned. This will be the occasion to study the representations of the wars of religion in France and the fate of French protestantism.

Physical Part closing date 2024-05-31

Language level required B2

Field of studies related to the course Social Science and Humanities

Course location Aix-en-Provence, France

Course language English