Unit rationale, description and aim

This unit explores Australian indigenous or First Nations spiritualities in terms of how they inform ways of knowing, relating and acting, particularly in connection with land/country, kinship, language, beliefs and cultural practices. It also explores ways that indigenous spiritualities relate to Catholic thought and history, both in terms of belief and custom as well as with regard to the historical record of their contact since European settlement. Australian Indigenous perspectives on life are holistic, with spirituality informing all areas of life and culture. This will be examined in the context of an ongoing dialogue with Catholic tradition, which also aspires to a holistic approach. Of particular interest here are key Catholic theological categories such as inculturation, incarnation and sacramentality that intersect with Australian indigenous spiritualities, particularly with respect to country/land, creation, spirit(s), and God. Students will explore the compare and contrast the two belief systems and what has drawn each to engage with the other. The unit aims to equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to critically apply insights from Australian indigenous spiritualities and Catholic thought to issues relevant to personal, national and/or professional contexts. This unit is available within ACU's Core Curriculum.

2026 10

Campus offering

No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.

Prerequisites

Nil

Incompatible

PHCC320 The Just Society , PHIL320 Ethics, Justice and the Good Society , UNCC300 Justice and Change in a Global World , PHCC201 The Origins of the Sciences and Contemporary Challenges , TPCC202 Conflict, Violence and Peace-making , THCC200 Justice in the World: Catholic Social Ethics in Global Perspective , TPCC201 Ecology and Justice

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.

Outline major beliefs, practices and themes of ind...

Learning Outcome 01

Outline major beliefs, practices and themes of indigenous spiritualities, and of areas of overlap and contrast with Catholic thought and practice.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC5, GC6

Analyse the implications of Australian indigenous ...

Learning Outcome 02

Analyse the implications of Australian indigenous spiritualities for modes of living in community, and points of dialogue with Catholic thought and practice.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC9

Apply ways of knowing and living in indigenous spi...

Learning Outcome 03

Apply ways of knowing and living in indigenous spiritualities and Catholicism to case studies/issues.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC9

Content

Topics may include:

  • Foundational understanding and skills in critical analysis and argumentation.
  • Dialogue with, and intersections between, Australian indigenous/First Nations spiritualities/religions and Catholicism, particularly as holistic spiritual systems, and their approaches to life experiences (e.g., birth and death), politics, law, ethics, and other domains of cultural life.
  • Key understandings and skills for dialogue, including cultural safety and humility.
  • Relationship between Catholic theological categories with Australian indigenous spiritualities, e.g., inculturation, incarnation and sacramentality.
  • Indigenous ways of knowing and cultural/religious systems and practices.
  • Indigenous sacred stories and Christian stories.
  • Importance of ritual/liturgical practice, art, law, kinship and ethics in indigenous and Catholic systems.
  • History of engagement between indigenous peoples and the Catholic Church.
  • Ethical issues, e.g., environment and reconciliation and its future.

Assessment strategy and rationale

In order to pass this unit, students are required to achieve an overall minimum grade of pass (50%).

The assessment strategy is designed to enable students to display achievement of all learning outcomes. 

Task 1 asks students to explain key themes, including beliefs, practices and their theological basis. This task is designed to enable achievement of Learning Outcome 1. The task fosters core skills which will be further developed in Tasks 2 and 3.

Task 2 invites students to reflect on and analyse Australian indigenous ways of knowing and living and how they relate to key Catholic theological categories. The focus of this task is on enabling students to display achievement of Learning Outcomes 2 and 3.

In Task 3, students are asked to integrate their range of learning across the unit by reflecting on the relationship between key themes investigated in the unit and what they reveal about Christianity as a movement. This integration of learning between First Nations spiritualities and Catholic belief and practice can be applied to particular case studies, community experiences or current issues. Task 3 enables students to display achievement of all three learning outcomes.

Overview of assessments

Task 1: Conceptual Task Requires students to outl...

Task 1: Conceptual Task

Requires students to outline some key Australian indigenous and Catholic beliefs, values and practices.

Weighting

20%

Learning Outcomes LO1, LO2
Graduate Capabilities GC1, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC9

Task 2: Critical Analysis Project Requires studen...

Task 2: Critical Analysis Project

Requires students to reflect on and analyse how Australian indigenous ways of knowing and living relate with key Catholic theological categories.

Weighting

40%

Learning Outcomes LO2, LO3
Graduate Capabilities GC1, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC9

Task 3: Integrated Knowledge Defence and Applicat...

Task 3: Integrated Knowledge Defence and Application Task

Requires students to reflect on and critically apply insights from Australian indigenous spiritualities and Catholic theology and practice to a case study/studies or issue(s).

Weighting

40%

Learning Outcomes LO1, LO2, LO3
Graduate Capabilities GC1, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC9

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit is offered as a flipped classroom, drawing on the standard 150 hours of focused learning. Students are required to complete online modules as well as attend on-campus seminars, where some assessment will be conducted. Students are asked to define key terms and approaches, analyse and integrate new information with existing knowledge, draw meaningful new connections, and then apply what they have learned to contemporary contexts. Collaborative and peer learning is also emphasised. Active participation in this unit is an essential element of student learning, reflected in the assessment strategy.

Learning is aimed to be engaging and supportive, helping students to develop critical thinking and reflection skills. They will engage with a range of approaches and perspectives from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders, academics and peoples, including those who have engaged with Catholic thought and practice. 

Because of the humanities-based nature of the unit, the learning strategy aims to help students develop skills in analysis, critical thinking, reflection, and the interpretation of complex and nuanced themes, and then to relate these themes back to their own contexts. In this way, the student is placed at the centre of learning, and learning is an active and relevant process.

Representative texts and references

Representative texts and references

Callaghan, Paul, and Paul Gordon.The Dreaming Path: Indigenous Thinking to Change Your Life. Neutral Bay: Pantera Press, 2022.

Gammage, Bill. The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2012. 

John Paul II. “Address of John Paul II to the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in Blatherskite Park”, 29 November https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1986/november/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19861129_aborigeni-alice-springs-australia.html#:~:text=Through%20your%20closeness%20to%20the,to%20the%20source%20of%20life, 1986.

McGrath, Anne, Laura Rademaker and Jakelin Troy, eds. Everywhen: Australia and the Language of Deep History. Sydney: NewSouth Publishing, 2023. 

Morgan, Sally, Mia, Tjalaminu and Blaze Kwaymullina, eds. Heartsick for Country: Stories of Love, Spirit and Creation. Fremantle: Fremantle Press, 2008.  

Pattel-Gray, Anne. 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, William Edward Hanley. On Aboriginal Religion. Sydney: University of Sydney Press, 1989. 

Stockton, Eugene. The Aboriginal Gift: Spirituality for a Nation. 2nd ed. Lawson: NSW Blue Mountain Education and Research Trust, 2015.

 

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