New technological paradigms lead to new research questions in the field of religious studies

The adoption of new technological paradigms has recently shifted part of the scholarship on religions towards new research questions: the unthinkable became real. Such a new condition stimulates scholarly curiosity which needs to be effective and fertile matching with technological infrastructures and access to physical and digital sources and research means. ITSERR (Italian Strengthening of the ESFRI RI RESILIENCE) is the Italian research project launched in 2022 with the goal of enhancing RESILIENCE, the European Research Infrastructure for the Study of Religion. The primary goal of ITSERR is to meet the evolving needs of its multidisciplinary scientific community and support the development of the national research infrastructure. With the endorsement of new technological paradigms, the project is willing to play a pivotal role in enriching the diversity, the quality and innovation of knowledge produced by the community of scholars investigating religions. The volume presents the first research and methodological outcomes achieved by the ITSERR interdisciplinary team composed of researchers in the Humanities and in Information Technologies.

Autorentext
Alberto Melloni is Full Professor of History of Christianity at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Secretary of FSCIRE - Fondazione per le scienze religiose (Bologna and Palermo) and Chair holder of the UNESCO Chair on Religious Pluralism and Peace at the University of Bologna. Since 2020, he has been also one of the European Commission's Chief Scientific Advisors. Francesca Cadeddu is assistant professor of Contemporary History at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and executive director of RESILIENCE, the European Research Infrastructure on Religious Studies.