ABRAM Anthropology, Bible, Religions: A Multidisciplinary Approach

The Post-Graduate Course in Anthropology, Bible, Religions: A Multidisciplinary Approach (ABRAM) stands out for its innovative educational approach, fully reflecting the interdisciplinary and inter-religious nature of the contents provided, and focusing this year on “The Disputed Peace”.

Through a constant dialogue between lecturers from different fields – theology, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, psychology – and from the Hebrew, Christian, and Muslim tradition, the course provides a unique and integrated perspective on the anthropological topics featured in the Bible and linked to the relationship between violence and conflict, justice and forgiveness, hope and future, according to Abrahamic religions.

Lectures, labs and workshops will feature a constant comparison between different perspectives, providing a mutual enrichment of competences, and a deeper understanding of the matters covered.

Interdisciplinary does not just apply to the course’s content, but also to its educational approach, which actualizes the objective of training professionals capable of working with cultural sensitivity in multiple religious contexts, promoting intercultural dialogue for a better understanding of the challenges analysed in the different course modules.

The Post-Graduate Course in Anthropology, Bible, Religions: A Multidisciplinary Approach (ABRAM) is addressed to a wide range of professionals, working in formal and informal educational contexts, and exposed every day to cultural and religious pluralism. Goal of the course is providing the conceptual and anthropological competence resulting from the knowledge of biblical knowledge, allowing them to exercise their profession with greater relevance and cultural sensitivity.

Specifically, the course will provide training and update to the following professional figures:

• School teachers at all levels
• Infancy and early childhood teachers
• Social and healthcare professionals
• Family and intercultural mediators
• Museum, cultural, and PA professionals
• Educational and training path designers
• Journalists and communicators
• Lawyers and legal professionals
• Tourist guides and operators
• Students and graduates in humanities

With its multidisciplinary approach, the Course helps to develop a critical interpretation of our contemporary times, through the lenses of Hebrew, Christian and Muslim tradition.

The career opportunities range from school and educational contexts, to social-training, cultural and entertainment services, and public/private institutions working alongside cultural and religious pluralism, as is the case of contemporary society.

Module 1: Violence and Conflict
This module examines issues related to the dynamics of conflict, power, and violence in the Bible, with particular attention to the relationship between conflict and violence. It explores the conflictual nature of reality, raising questions such as: what is the relationship between the Bible and violence, with a focus on the theme of sacrifice? Why is violence a fundamental element of human history? Can violence and conflict be separated? It also investigates the origins of the link between violence and otherness, and between violence and the sacred, asking how Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions relate today to the concept of conflict.

Module 2: Justice and Forgiveness
This module is introduced by the question: is there a necessary relationship between justice and forgiveness? It addresses the following issues: how does engagement with the Scriptures transform the concept of justice? How have Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religions interpreted the notion of forgiveness? Finally, it reflects on the relationship between these two principles: to what extent does our approach to justice include a reference to forgiveness?

Module 3: Hope and the Future
This module explores how hope is expressed in the biblical narrative in relation to fundamental human needs. It examines the hopes and perspectives on the future of contemporary human beings, asking: what are we allowed to hope for? It also analyzes the interplay between resilience and hope, and the prospects for possible peace among peoples in situations of armed and environmental conflict, according to the perspectives of the three Abrahamic religions.

The Post-Graduate Course in Anthropology, Bible, Religions: A Multidisciplinary Approach (ABRAM) is organized in close collaboration with the Theological Faculty of Triveneto, a long-standing academic institution, leader in biblical and theological studies, in a unique partnership with the University of Padua. With this synergy, we can enrich the course program through the precious contribution of ordinary professors, enrolled by the Theological Faculty, and expert in Abrahamic religious traditions. Therefore, the interdisciplinary dialogue is constantly fed by direct comparison with leading academics in the field of Hebrew, Christian and Islamic studies, bringing their specific exegesis and interpretations of the Bible. This unique and outstanding partnership between the University of Padua and the Theological Faculty of Triveneto gives the ABRAM Post-Graduate Course an interdisciplinary approach, by promoting a fertile exchange of knowledge, and the encounter between different cultures, combined by the study of this sacred text.

The general ranking of merit for the academic year 2026/27 will be published on the Italian page of this Course according to the timing provided in the Call.