Guidelines for Teachers

Introduction for teachers

The section 1 presents the core concepts of methodological approach to body. It’s devoted specially to give general orientation. Questions of section 1 are a good starting point to introducing argument to the class.
Then the teacher could opt for a focus on a specific religion analyzing only one page, or for a religious area (“Abrahamic” religions with sections 3, 5, 6; or oriental religions with sections 2 and 4) or for a complete study using all the pages during several lessons. Teacher could then select sources and examples between those given.
Sections 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 contain: sources linked to a specific religion, a short introduction to how the body is approached in that religion, and description of some rituals involving the body.

Conceptual (Knowledge) objectives

• C.O.1: To understand that every culture has elaborated a peculiar idea about body’s nature.
• C.O.2: To understand that body is actively involved in religious practices
• C.O.3: To understand that different cultures give different values to body, and its garbs
• C.O.4: To understand that body and corporal apparel are vehicles of cultural and religious identity

Skills

• S.1: To be able to distinguish between biological and cultural body
  S.2: To be able to reflect critically on the notion of “normality” about corporal apparel and behaviour
  S.3: To be able to move from a cultural symbolic system to another questioning one's own modern western cultural system

Competences

• C.1: To be able to void intolerant or folkloric approaches to diversity about corporal apparel and behaviour

Additional general info

Bibliography

In Italian:
F. Remotti, Prima lezione di Antropologia, Laterza, 2007
G. Mura, R. Cipriani (edd.), Corpo e Religione, Città Nuova Roma, 2009
R. Pepicelli, Il Velo nell’Islam. Storia politica estetica, Carocci Editori, Roma, 2012

In English:
Sarah Coakley. ed. Religion and the Body, Cambridge University Press, 2000

Webliography