Secular and Sacred in Australia (CH9020P)

Postgraduate, 24.0 points

Content

Australia is often called the ‘first post-Christian society’ and ‘the most Godless country under heaven’ but Australians who articulate their ‘search for meaning’ sincerely are accorded national respect. This subject approaches the paradox of Australian religious history through four key ‘secular’ sites in order to locate religious belief and approaches to ‘the sacred’ in the wider context of Australian culture. Exploration of change over time in the role and significance of the beach, the family home, the war memorial and the sports ground lays a foundation for discussion of the place of the church as an institution and a community in Western post-industrial democracies and casts light on Australian perceptions of ‘good’, ‘bad’ and ‘God’. You will be able to draw on your own interests and expertise to formulate research questions and will be supported as you undertake independent research in response to those questions.

Unit code: CH9020P

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Church History

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Pilgrim Theological College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Identify and assess key themes in the post-contact history of Australia, and set those themes in the context of the international literature on faith and belief;
2.

Identify and reflect on a public place in the student’s local area as symbolic of a key theme in Australian public life or history
3.

Articulate the relationship between theological reflection and history in relation to an aspect of Australian public life;
4.

Analyse and interpret a range of historical and theological sources;
5.

Offer appropriate peer feedback on a research proposal;
6.

Analyse feedback received from peers and apply it to a research task.

Unit sequence

Pre-requisites 15 points in Field C

Pedagogy

Participatory student-centred seminars, reflection on experience, guided engagement with source material, student formulated research questions, peer feedback.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Bachelard, G. The Poetics Of Space. Boston: Beacon Press, 1964.
  • Gorringe, T. Furthering Humanity: a theology of culture. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004.
  • Gorringe, T. A Theology of the Built Environment: Justice, Power and Redemption. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  • Host, J.T. and Chris Owens with the SouthWest Land and Sea Council, ‘It’s Still in My Heart This is My Country’: The Single Noongar Claim History. Crawley: UWA Press, 2009.
  • Inglis, K.S. Sacred Places. Carlton, Miegunyah at MUP, 1998.
  • Kinast, R. What Are They Saying About Theological Reflection?, Paulist Press, 2000
  • Lane, B. Landscapes of the Sacred: Geography and Narrative in American Spirituality. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.
  • Malouf, D. A First Place. Sydney: Random House, 2014.
  • Peel, M and Twomey, C. A History of Australia. London: Palgrave, 2011.
  • Read, P. Belonging; Australians, Place and Aboriginal Ownership. Cambridge: CUP, 2000.
  • Sheldrake, P. Spaces for the Sacred: Place, Memory and Identity. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

Essay (3,000 words)

 0 60.0
Report

Site report (1,000 words)

 0 20.0
Poster

Poster (equivalent 2,000 words)

 0 30.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 5 Sep, 2018

Unit record last updated: 2024-08-09 13:10:51 +1000