Indigenous Rights and the Legacies of the Bible (IS9041W)

Postgraduate, 24.0 points

Content

Joshua’s conquest of Canaan was often used in colonial history as a model for the genocide of Indigenous peoples, but in legal arguments since the sixteenth century, the Hebrew Bible also provided sanctions for the defence of Indigenous rights. This unit retraces such contradictory movements in modern colonial histories and describes the variety of outcomes in different contexts, with a focus on the Australian colonies. We will also explore the ways in which policies of assimilation in the twentieth century were often entwined with Christian theological motivations. The possibilities for decolonial understandings of Indigenous rights will be explored with special attention to renewed practices of biblical interpretation.

Unit code: IS9041W

Unit status: Approved (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Indigenous Studies

Proposing College: Whitley College

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Learning outcomes

1.

Discuss the influence of biblical interpretation within constructions of colonialism
2.

Articulate the origins and development of the concepts of Indigenous rights
3.

Describe the ways in which Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander connections to country have been viewed through the lenses of biblical theology
4.

Analyse the ways in which biblical theologies have supported policies of assimilation
5.

Evaluate the opportunities for decolonial biblical interpretation in the context of settler Australian churches
6.

Assess the potential contribution of biblical theology in debates about secular law

Pedagogy

Online lectures and seminar discussion, with synchronous and asynchronous modes of participation.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Attwood, Bain. William Cooper: An Aboriginal Life Story. Melbourne: Miegunyah Press, 2021.
  • Brett, Mark G. Indigenous Rights and the Legacies of the Bible: From Moses to Mabo. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024 forthcoming.
  • Gondarra, Djiniyini. Series of Reflections on Aboriginal Religion. Darwin: Bethel Presbytery, Northern Synod of the Uniting Church in Australia, 1986.
  • Deverell, Garry Worete. Gondwana Theology: A Trawloolway Man Reflects on Christian Faith. Melbourne: Morning Star, 2018.
  • Havea, Jione. Indigenous Australia and the Unfinished Business of Theology: Cross-Cultural Engagement. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
  • Kidd, Colin. The Forging of Races: Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600–2000. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
  • Lantigua, David. Infidels and Empires in a New World Order: Early Modern Spanish Contributions to International Legal Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.
  • Liew, Tat-siong Benny and Fernando F. Segovia, eds. Colonialism and the Bible: Contemporary Reflections from the Global South. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2018.
  • Pattel-Gray, Anne, and Norman Habel. De-colonising the Biblical Narrative. Vol. 1. Adelaide: ATF, 2022.
  • Prior, Michael. The Bible and Colonialism: A Moral Critique. London: Bloomsbury, 1997.
  • Vessey, Mark, Sharon V. Betcher, Robert A. Daum, and Harry O. Maier, eds. The Calling of the Nations: Exegesis, Ethnography, and Empire in a Biblical-Historic Present. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Exegesis - One 3,000 word Exegesis 3000 40.0
Forum - Five 200 word forum posts

Not fewer than 5 entries of approximately 200 words each, responding to set readings and peer interaction

 1000 10.0
Essay - One 4,000 word essay 4000 50.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by Prof Albert Haddad on 31 Oct, 2023

Unit record last updated: 2023-11-22 14:55:24 +1100