Andrea Rota

Professor - Study of Religion
Image of Andrea Rota
Norwegian version of this page
Mobile phone +41 79 787 44 60
Room B341
Username
Visiting address Niels Henrik Abels vei 36 P. A. Munchs hus 0371 Oslo
Postal address Postboks 1010 Blindern 0315 Oslo

Academic interests

My research focuses on the transformations of religion in society since the mid-twentieth century, with a specific emphasis on contemporary forms of religiosity in the Western world. I have conducted extensive studies on the political controversies surrounding religion in public schools and am currently exploring religious and secular narratives in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I am also interested in the way religious communities adapt and adopt traditional and new media for their religious purposes. To this end, I have investigated the dynamic relationships between religion, media, and community among Evangelicals and Jehovah's Witnesses.

In a historical context, I am captivated by the interwoven relationship between academic research and religious innovation in the 1960s to 1970s and its evolution in subsequent decades.

In my work, I strive to integrate empirical research and theoretical analysis, drawing from classical debates in the study of religion such as the emic-etic distinction and exploring emerging topics, such as utopian imaginaries. I am also exploring innovative avenues through philosophical research, in particular the concept of collective intentionality.

Courses taught

Background

CV

Education

  • 2020: Habilitation, venia docendi in the study of religion (Religionswissenschaft).
    Habilitation thesis on collective intentionality among the Jehovah’s Witnesses
  • 2016: Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Higher School Education, University of Bern
  • 2011: Ph.D. in the study of religion, University of Fribourg. Ph.D. thesis on the sociopolitical debates surrounding religion in Swiss schools.
  • 2007: M.A. in the study of religion (major), contemporary history, social anthropology (minors), University of Fribourg

Professional experience

  • 2024 – Professor of the study of religion at the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages (IKOS), University of Oslo
  • 2023 – 2024 Associate professor of the study of religion at the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages (IKOS), University of Oslo
  • 2017 – 2023 Assistant professor of theory and method in the study of religion, University of Bern
  • 2014 – 2017 Postdoctoral assistant in the study of religion, University of Bern (50%)
  • 2013 – 2017 Senior research fellow, Department of religious studies, University of Fribourg (50%)
  • 2010 – 2012 Scientific collaborator, Institute for the study of religion II, University of Bayreuth
  • 2007 – 2010 Research assistant, Department of religious studies, University of Fribourg

Appointments

Partners

  • Affiliated researcher at the Institute for the science of religion, University of Bern. Co-PI in the research project "How Worldviews Shape Social Responsibility: Religious and Secular Narratives of the Body, the Virus, and the State in the Covid-19 Crisis" (NFP80)
Tags: Study of religion, Religion and politics, Religion and media, Religion and science, Religion in the 1960s, New Forms of Christianity, Jehovah's Witnesses, Religion and COVID, Method and Theory

Publications

  • Kirsch, Anja & Rota, Andrea (2024). Towards a global history of religion: reflections on Karénina Kollmar-Paulenz's "Lamas and Shamans". AЯGOS: Perspectives in the Study of Religion. 3(2), p. 1–151. doi: 10.26034/fr.argos.2024S3.
  • Kirsch, Anja & Rota, Andrea (2024). Towards a global history of religion: editors' note. AЯGOS: Perspectives in the Study of Religion. 3(2), p. 3–5. doi: 10.26034/fr.argos.2024.4768.
  • Rota, Andrea (2023). La formation des cadres musulmans en Suisse: d’un casse-tête à l’autre ? Eurostudia: revue transatlantique de recherches sur l’Europe. ISSN 1718-8946. 14(1-2), p. 138–159. doi: 10.7202/1106861ar.
  • Rota, Andrea (2023). Introduction. Religion, Academia, and Society in the Long Sixties. In Rota, Andrea (Eds.), Religion and Academia Reframed. Connecting Religion, Science, and Society in the Long Sixties. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 978-90-04-54656-1. p. 1–14.
  • Rota, Andrea (2023). Acid Scholarship. Timothy Leary and the Academic Background of Psychedelic Occulture. In Rota, Andrea (Eds.), Religion and Academia Reframed. Connecting Religion, Science, and Society in the Long Sixties. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 978-90-04-54656-1. p. 151–175.
  • Rota, Andrea (2023). Jehovah online. The new media landscape of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In Bassimir, Anja-Maria & Gelfgren, Stefan (Ed.), Protestant Periodicals in Transition. From the Twentieth Century to the Digital Age. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 978-90-04-54835-0. p. 75–97.
  • Rota, Andrea (2022). (Re)Connecting Analytic Philosophy and Empirical Research. The Example of Ritual Speech Acts and Religious Collectivities. Sophia. ISSN 0038-1527. 61(1), p. 79–92.
  • Rota, Andrea; Michel, Simon & Wyttenbach, Christina (2022). Religion und religious-social engineering. R(el)ationale Gestaltung von Religion als Erbe der langen 1960er Jahre. Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte. ISSN 0044-3441. 74(2), p. 91–109.
  • Rota, Andrea & Schlieter, Jens (2022). War, ‘the Father of All’—Including Moralizing Religions? Religion, Brain and Behavior. ISSN 2153-599X. 13(2), p. 214–216.
  • Rota, Andrea; Kirsch, Anja; Monnot, Christophe & Krüger, Oliver (2022). AЯGOS—Introducing a New Journal in the Study of Religion. AЯGOS: Perspectives in the Study of Religion. 1(1), p. 1–21.
  • Rota, Andrea & Mostowlansky, Till (2020). Emic and Etic. Cambridge Encyclopedia of Anthropology. ISSN 2398-516X. p. 1–16.
  • Rota, Andrea & Krüger, Oliver (2019). The Dynamics of Religion, Media, and Community: An Introduction. Online - Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet. ISSN 1861-5813. 24, p. 1–19.
  • Rota, Andrea (2019). Media, and Joint Commitment. Jehovah’s Witnesses as a ‘Plural Subject’. Online - Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet. ISSN 1861-5813. 14, p. 79–107.
  • Rota, Andrea & Kirsch, Anja (2019). Introductory Remarks: Turning an Academic Conference into a Master’s Seminar. ZjR - Zeitschrift für junge Religionswissenschaft. ISSN 1862-5886. 18, p. 1–5.
  • Kirsch, Anja & Rota, Andrea (2019). Multiple Religious Identities: Students’ Interviews with Keynote Speakers of the 2018 EASR Conference – Introductory Remarks: Turning an Academic Conference into a Master’s Seminar. ZjR - Zeitschrift für junge Religionswissenschaft. ISSN 1862-5886. doi: 10.4000/zjr.1156.
  • Rota, Andrea & Schmid, Hansjörg (2018). Wer spricht für den Islam in der Schweiz? Im Spannungsfeld von Alltag und Ansprüchen. Swiss Academies Communications. ISSN 2297-1807. 13(4), p. 23–26.
  • Rota, Andrea (2018). Innovazione mediatica e rappresentazione di sé. L’esempio dei Testimoni di Geova. Annali di Studi Religiosi. ISSN 1592-5927. 19, p. 141–171.
  • Rota, Andrea & Müller, Stefan (2017). Die Entwicklung des Religionsunterrichts in der Schweiz im Spannungsfeld von Kirche, Staat und Schule im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Eine Übersicht am Beispiel ausgewählter Kantone. Teil 2: Kanton Bern. Zeitschrift für Religionskunde - Revue de didactique des sciences des religions. ISSN 2297-6469. 4(1), p. 45–59.
  • Rota, Andrea & Müller, Stefan (2017). L’évolution de l’enseignement religieux en Suisse entre Église, État et école aux 19e et 20e siècles. Une vue d’ensemble à partir d’une sélection de cantons. Partie 1: Le canton de Vaud. Zeitschrift für Religionskunde - Revue de didactique des sciences des religions. ISSN 2297-6469. 4(1), p. 29–44.
  • Rota, Andrea & Bleisch, Petra (2017). Representations and Concepts of Professional Ethos Among Swiss Religious Education Teacher Trainers. British Journal of Religious Education. ISSN 0141-6200. 39(1), p. 75–92.
  • Rota, Andrea (2016). Les réformes de l’enseignement religieux en Suisse. Une régulation ultramoderne du religieux? In Barras, Amélie; Dermange, Françoise & Nicolet, Sarah (Ed.), Réguler le religieux dans les sociétés libérales. Labor et Fides. ISSN 283091581X. p. 87–104.
  • Rota, Andrea; Müller, Stefan & Galetta, Francesco (2016). Federalismo e religione in Svizzera: tra conflittualità e flessibilità. La negoziazione della laicità scolastica sullo sfondo della revisione totale della Costituzione federale del 1874. Annali di storia dell’educazione e delle istituzioni scolastiche. ISSN 1723-9672. 23, p. 59–80.
  • Rota, Andrea & Mostowlansky, Till (2016). A Matter of Perspective? Disentangling the Emic−Etic Debate in the Scientific Study of Religion\s. Method & Theory in the Study of Religion. ISSN 0943-3058. 28(4/5), p. 317–336.
  • Rota, Andrea (2016). Religion as Social Reality: A Take on the Emic–Etic Debate in Light of John Searle’s Philosophy of Society. Method & Theory in the Study of Religion. ISSN 0943-3058. 28(4/5), p. 421–444.
  • Rota, Andrea & Schneuwly Purdie, Mallory (2015). Religion, Education and the State: Rescaling the Confessional Boundaries in Switzerland. In Brunn, Stanley D. (Eds.), The Changing World Religion Map: Sacred Places, Identities, Practices and Politics. Springer. ISSN 9789401793759. p. 893–907.
  • Rota, Andrea & Müller, Stefan (2015). Die Entwicklung des Religionsunterrichts in der Schweiz im Spannungsfeld von Kirche, Staat und Schule im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Eine Übersicht am Beispiel ausgewählter Kantone. Teil 1: Kanton Waadt. Zeitschrift für Religionskunde - Revue de didactique des sciences des religions. ISSN 2297-6469. 1(1), p. 27–42.
  • Rota, Andrea & Krüger, Oliver (2015). Die Verkündigung von Jehovas Königreich in Hörfunk und Internet. Ein Beitrag zur Medienhermeneutik. Religion, Staat, Gesellschaft. ISSN 1438-955X. 16, p. 75–108.
  • Rota, Andrea; Fawer Caputo, Christine & Desponds, Séverine (2014). Entre théologie, pédagogie et science des religions: L’évolution des manuels pour l’enseignement religieux en Suisse. In Willaime, Jean-Paul (Eds.), Le défi de l’enseignement des faits religieux à l’école. Riveneuve Editions. ISSN 2360132237. p. 83–99.
  • Rota, Andrea (2014). L’enseignement de l’éthique en Suisse romande. Diotime - l'Agora. ISSN 1290-3485. 61, p. 1–15.
  • Rota, Andrea & Jödicke, Ansgar (2014). Patterns of Religious Education Policy in Switzerland. The Long Arm of Distanced Christians. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. ISSN 0021-8294. 53(4), p. 722–738.
  • Rota, Andrea (2013). Religious Education between the State and Religious Communities. In Jödicke, Ansgar (Eds.), Society, the State, and Religious Education Politics. Ergon-Verlag. ISSN 978-3-89913-954-9. p. 105–127.
  • Rota, Andrea & Bleisch, Petra (2012). Introduction – Einführung. In Rota, Andrea & Bleisch Bouzar, Petra (Ed.), Frieden als Beruf. Beiträge aus der Religions- und Friedensforschung. Pano Verlag. ISSN 978-3-290-22020-4. p. 9–18.
  • Rota, Andrea & Bleisch, Petra (2012). Islamic Religious Education and Interreligious Dialogue – A Case Study in Kreuzlingen. In Rota, Andrea & Bleisch Bouzar, Petra (Ed.), Frieden als Beruf. Beiträge aus der Religions- und Friedensforschung. Pano Verlag. ISSN 978-3-290-22020-4. p. 169–182.

View all works in Cristin

  • Rota, Andrea (2023). Religion and Academia Reframed. Connecting Religion, Science, and Society in the Long Sixties. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-54656-1. 229 p.
  • Rota, Andrea (2017). La religion à l’école. Négociations autour de la présence publique des communautés religieuses. Seismo. ISBN 978-2-88351-078-4. 156 p.
  • Rota, Andrea (2015). État des lieux des politiques de l’enseignement religieux en Suisse latine. Réformes institutionnelles et schémas interprétatifs. Infolio. ISBN 9782884743563. 380 p.
  • Rota, Andrea & Bleisch Bouzar, Petra (2012). Frieden als Beruf. Beiträge aus der Religions- und Friedensforschung. Pano Verlag. ISBN 978-3-290-22020-4. 262 p.

View all works in Cristin

  • Rota, Andrea & Frøystad, Kathinka (2023). Religious Offence in India. [Internet]. IKOS – Religion and Politics Podcast #1.
  • Rota, Andrea (2023). R. of Ü. Valk and M. Bowman eds, “Vernacular Knowledge. Contesting Authority, Expressing Beliefs” (Sheffield: Equinox, 2022). Journal of Contemporary Religion. ISSN 1353-7903. 38(3), p. 579–581.
  • Rota, Andrea (2023). R. of W. Alberts et al. eds, “Handbuch Religionskunde in Deutschland” (Berlin: De Gruyter 2023). Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft. ISSN 0943-8610. 31(2), p. 257–259.
  • Trangerud, Hanne Amanda & Rota, Andrea (2023). Trump and the American Evangelicals (RelPol podcast #3).
  • Rota, Andrea (2020). R. of L. Ambasciano, “An Unnatural History of Religions: Academia, Post-truth and the Quest for Scientific Knowledge” (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2019). ASDIWAL. Revue genevoise d’anthropologie et d’histoire des religions. ISSN 1662-4653. 15, p. 195–198.
  • Rota, Andrea (2017). R. of B.-O. Andreassen and J. R. Lewis ed., “Textbook Gods. Genre, Text and Teaching Religious Studies” (Sheffield and Bristol: Equinox, 2014). Religion. ISSN 0048-721X. 47(1), p. 126–129.
  • Rota, Andrea (2015). R. of A. Berg-Sørensen, ed., “Contested Secularism” (Farham: Ashgate 2013). Religion. ISSN 0048-721X. 45(1), p. 124–127.
  • Rota, Andrea (2015). R. of J. S. Jensen, “What is Religion?” (London: Routledge, 2014). ASDIWAL. Revue genevoise d’anthropologie et d’histoire des religions. ISSN 1662-4653. 10, p. 216–219.
  • Kirsch, Anja & Rota, Andrea (2013). Lamas and Shamans: Mongolian Orders of Knowledge from the Early 17th to the 21st Century. A Contribution to the Debate on Non-European Concepts of Religion. In Schalk, Peter; Deeg, Max; Freiberger, Oliver & Kleine, Christoph (Ed.), Religion in Asien?: Studien zur Anwendbarkeit des Religionsbegriffs. Uppsala universitet. ISSN 9789155484279. p. 6–47. doi: 10.26034/fr.argos.2024.4744.
  • Rota, Andrea & Jödicke, Ansgar (2010). Unterricht zum Thema Religion an der öffentlichen Schule. Swiss National Science Foundation.

View all works in Cristin

Published Feb. 2, 2023 12:43 PM - Last modified Mar. 22, 2024 1:48 PM