Unit rationale, description and aim

Human history is saturated with diverse instances of violent conflict, interspersed with periods of relative peace. This ranges from inter-personal and domestic conflicts, intra-communal or civil conflicts, major and minor wars, colonial oppression, genocide, the abuse of human rights through slavery, deliberate impoverishment, the maltreatment of prisoners, to various kinds of racial/ethnic, gendered and sexual violence. In this unit, students study this phenomenon with a view to understanding patterns and considering forms of response. Psychological and sociological theories of human violence are considered, alongside the extensive teachings of religious traditions that have much to say about the morality of violent action, especially when perpetrated against the innocent and the vulnerable. Biblical texts concerning violence (and their history of interpretation) as well as Catholic teachings about peace, non-violence and the morality of violent action are examined. The ‘Just War’ tradition of thought receives attention, as do examples of historic and modern slavery and abolitionist movements. The unit aims to develop students’ critical understandings of the origins and expressions of violence, and to equip them with the insights and skills needed to join with others to advocate for a more peaceful and just world. 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 , UNCC300 Justice and Change in a Global World , PHIL320 Ethics, Justice and the Good Society , PHCC201 The Origins of the Sciences and Contemporary Challenges , THCC200 Justice in the World: Catholic Social Ethics in Global Perspective , THCC202 Sacred Land: Australian Indigenous Spiritualities and Catholic Thought , 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.

Explain major theories of violence and biblical te...

Learning Outcome 01

Explain major theories of violence and biblical texts and core Catholic teachings concerning violence, with reference to other religious traditions.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC5, GC6, GC7

Analyse the dynamics at play in dominant forms of ...

Learning Outcome 02

Analyse the dynamics at play in dominant forms of violence, and ways in which conflicts have been successfully addressed through peace-making and community building efforts.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC5, GC6, GC7

Critically reflect on ways in which conflict might...

Learning Outcome 03

Critically reflect on ways in which conflict might be successfully addressed and peace advanced in specific circumstances, with reference to Catholic perspectives in dialogue with other traditions.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC5, GC6, GC7

Content

Topics may include: 

  • Foundational understanding and skills in critical analysis and argumentation.
  • The teachings of religious traditions on war and violence, with a particular focus on Biblical texts and Catholic thought.
  • Theories of violence: Why are human beings so violent?
  • Forms and structures of violence.
  • War and military conflict, including ‘Just War’, non-violent and pacifist traditions.
  • Slavery, historic and modern.
  • Racial and ethnic violence.
  • Gendered and sexual violence.
  • Human dignity and the response to violence.  

Assessment strategy and rationale

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. 

To assure assessment in the age of generative artificial intelligence, as well as assessment authenticity, assessment is integrated with in-class activities. This involves written and oral activities assessing student understanding of key concepts, theories and debates about conflict and violence, as well as requiring them to enter into discussion with others and to produce individual pieces of work for assessment. Application to contemporary contexts will also be emphasised.

Task 1 asks students to explain major theories of violence and concepts relating to conflict and peace studies, including the Catholic tradition. It is designed to enable achievement of Learning Outcome 1.

Task 2 invites students to analyse particular forms of conflict and violence, including considering how they have been addressed. The focus of this task is on enabling students to achieve Learning Outcomes 1, 2 and 3.

In Task 3, students are asked to reflect on specific case studies and draw conclusions as to the success of conflict responses. This 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 of the major theories of violence, and core concepts relating to conflict and peace studies, including important contributions from the Catholic tradition. 

Weighting

20%

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

Task 2: Critical Analysis Project Requires studen...

Task 2: Critical Analysis Project

Requires students to analyse particular forms of conflict and violence, noting the specific dynamics at play, and how they have been successfully addressed (e.g., anti-war activism, community dialogues). 

Weighting

40%

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

Task 3: Integrative and Creative Application Task...

Task 3: Integrative and Creative Application Task

Requires students to critically reflect upon specific case studies (e.g., conflict evidence files, survivor voice statements, peace-making projects) to draw conclusions about the success of particular responses to conflict, with reference to Catholic thought. 

Weighting

40%

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

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit will be 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. During standard semesters, this involves approximately an hour of canvas-delivered content, including short instructional videos on key ideas and debates, a study guide, set readings, questions, and formative assessments. Students are required to attend two-hour on-campus seminars in which the week’s study materials will be discussed with peers and instructors, and where some assessment associated with unit content will be conducted. In these seminars, a range of learning activities will take place, to develop, test, and consolidate knowledge, and share ideas with others. 

When delivered during summer and winter terms, the unit will similarly employ a flipped mode of delivery, blending collaborative learning and project-based learning approaches, combined with direct instruction. The collaborative learning aspect emerges most strongly through interactions in the class or online forums, which require students to enter into critical engagement with one other in thinking through key problems in the field. 

Representative texts and references

Representative texts and references

Becker, Ernest. The Denial of Death. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1973.

Brunstetter, Daniel and Cian O’Driscoll (eds). Just War Thinkers: From Cicero to the 21st Century. London: Routledge, 2017. 

Collins, Patricia Hill. Lethal Intersections: Race, Gender, and Violence, 2024.

Copan, Paul. (ed). War, Peace, and Violence: Four Christian Views. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2022.

Cavanaugh, William. The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.  

Girard, René. Violence and the Sacred. London: Continuum, 2005. 

Kara, Siddharth. Modern Slavery: A Global Perspective. New York: Columbia University Press, 2023.

Prum, Michael, et al (eds). Racial, Ethnic, and Homophobic Violence: Killing in the Name of Otherness. New York: Routledge-Cavendish, 2007.

Rawley, James. The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History. 2nd ed. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2005.   

Reynolds, Henry. Forgotten War. 2nd Ed. Sydney: NewSouth Publishing, 2022. 

Locations
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