THSR301 - Indigenous Spiritualities

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

THCT100 What Christians Believe or PHIL107 Philosophy of World Religions

Incompatible

THSR100 Indigenous Spiritualities

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

The study of religion in the Australian context must engage with the world's oldest surviving indigenous cultures. Hearing the voices of our indigenous peoples is not only important for Australia as a healthy multicultural society but an imperative for the Church in Australia which "will not be fully the Church that Jesus wants her to be until" until the contributions of the indigenous peoples of Australia has been joyfully received. (John Paul II, Address to the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in "Blatherskite Park", Alice Springs, 29 November 1986, no. 13).

This unit will mainly be focused on the spiritual and religious life of the indigenous peoples of Australia. Attention will be paid to the traditional religious beliefs and practices of Aboriginal Australians at the time of European settlement, as well as to developments since the arrival of Europeans. The unit will explore the spiritual world of the Aboriginal peoples, especially the concepts of the Dreaming and the sacredness of the land, as it is expressed through stories, songs, rituals and art. This unit will also consider one or more indigenous religious traditions from other parts of the world (the Americas, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region). The aim of the unit is to enable students to develop an appreciation of the contribution of indigenous peoples and their spiritualities to the creation of a successful multicultural society.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the central concepts of Aboriginal spiritualities, acknowledging regional differences (GA1, GA5);

LO2 - analyse how stories, songs, rituals and art in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities express religious meaning (GA1; GA5; GA8);

LO3 - assess the impact of European contact on traditional Aboriginal religious beliefs and practices (GA1; GA8).

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA8 - locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

Content

Topics will include: 

• The history of the study of Aboriginal religions; 
• The Dreaming as a core element in Aboriginal spiritualities; Aboriginal creation stories and other stories from the Dreaming; 
• The sacredness of the land in Aboriginal religions; Aboriginal identity and country; sacred sites; 
• The expression of the religious dimension through ritual and art; 
• The impact of European contact; the effects of dispossession, relocation and assimilation policies on Aboriginal peoples; the introduction of Christianity; 
• The study of at least one further indigenous religion from the Americas, Africa or the Asia-Pacific region. 

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit involves 150 hours of focused learning, or the equivalent of 10 hours per week for 15 weeks. This unit includes formally structured learning activities such as lectures, integrated classroom discussions and online learning, focusing on students as active learners. It also includes guest lectures and excursions (where feasible and available) related to the unit content. The remaining hours involve reading, research, and the preparation of tasks for assessment.

The unit is normally offered in attendance mode or multi-mode. Students learn through formally structured and sequenced learning activities that support the achievement of the learning outcomes. Students are asked to critically reflect, analyse, and integrate new information with existing knowledge, draw meaningful new connections, and then apply what they have learned. Collaborative and peer learning is also emphasized.

THSR301 emphasises students as active, adult learners. Students are recognised as adult learners who engage best when what they are learning is relevant to them and gives them the opportunity to be responsible for their own learning. In many ways, the student is the one who drives the learning forward, and their active participation in this unit is essential. Learning is designed to be an engaging and supportive experience, which helps students to develop critical thinking and reflection skills.

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to pass this unit, students are required to attempt all assessment tasks and achieve an overall grade of Pass (50% or higher).

The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for students to demonstrate their achievement of each learning outcome.

Task 1 asks you to identify the key elements of indigenous spirituality and reflect briefly on their meaning and significance. This task is designed to allow you to display achievement of Learning Outcome 1. This task allows you a low risk piece of assessment to test your critical theological skills, as well as academic writing techniques. Feedback provided from Task 1 will help you with the other two assessment tasks.

Task 2 is a research essay that asks you to demonstrate critical understanding and analysis the Dreaming as a core element of Aboriginal spirituality and to make connections with contemporary practice. This task is designed to allow you to display achievement of Learning Outcomes 1 and 2.

Task 3 is an extended written task in which you are to critically engage with and respond to a variety of indigenous perspectives on the challenges for Aboriginal belief and practice today. This task is designed to allow you to display achievement of Learning Outcome 1 and 3.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Bell, D. Daughters of the Dreaming. Melbourne: Spinifex Press, 2001

Brock, P. Indigenous Peoples and Religious Change. Leiden: Brill, 2005.

Charlesworth, M. et al, eds. Religion in Aboriginal Australia: An Anthology. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press, 1984. 

Charlesworth, M. et al, eds. Aboriginal Religion in Australia: An Anthology of Recent Writings. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005.

Hume, L. Ancestral Power: The Dreaming, Consciousness, and Aboriginal Australians. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2002. 

Pattell-Gray, A. Aboriginal Spirituality: Past, Present, and Future. Melbourne: HarperCollins, 1996.

Rainbow Spirit Elders. Rainbow Spirit Theology: Toward an Australian Aboriginal Theology. 2nd ed. Adelaide: ATF Press, 2012.

Stanner, W. E. H. On Aboriginal Religion. Sydney: University of Sydney Press, 1989.

Stockton, E. The Aboriginal Gift: Spirituality for a Nation. Alexandria, NSW: Millennium Books, 1995.

Swain, T. A Place for Strangers: Towards a History of Australian Aboriginal Being. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.