Required Courses:

1) The View from Australia: Issues in Religion, Politics, Economics & Cultural Values (3 credits)
The emphasis of this course is on current issues and world developments which affect Australia, as interpreted from an Australian perspective. Through examination of Australians’ reactions to and handling of these matters, students should develop a basic understanding of the Australian culture and worldview and be able to articulate, appreciate and critique the orienting values of Australian society. Students will also compare, contrast and critique their own cultural value structures through reflection exercises and begin to distinguish cultural virtues from Christian truth. Themes for the course include: the settlement of Australia and the influence of landscape and environment on national identity; Australian government and the media; Australian ideological trends, religion, art forms; immigration, consumer behaviour, and foreign policy. This course includes a trip to Canberra (focused on foreign policy) and an ‘Outback’ trip (focused on land and environment).

(Possible Credit: General Studies, Political Science, Sociology, Religion/Theology, Cross-Cultural Studies.)

 The View From Australia syllabus

2) Indigenous Cultures, History & Identity (3 credits)

Aboriginal people living in Australia today are the present ‘face’ of ancient cultural lines that stretch back over eons of time. These lines contain the knowledge about connections to Country; family relationships and kinship systems; an education system that is ‘holistic’; teaching on the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual levels of an individual; practical knowledge for daily survival; the Ancestral Spirits and Creation stories; ceremonies, songs, dances and music. This course will begin by looking at the various lines that cover the following: concept of Country, spiritual belief systems, kinship and family relationships, totemic systems, foods and medicines, education systems, and spiritual beliefs including the Creation stories. Other lines will include the arrival of Europeans, the disruption to Indigenous ways of life, the rampage of the newcomers, Aboriginal resistance, racism and its consequences, the church’s involvement, past and present, Government policies including the removal of Aboriginal children from their families, land right issues, social issues and political movements, identity today and determining Indigenous futures. This course includes a trip ‘out bush’ (focused on traditional Aboriginal cultures) and a trip to New Zealand (focused on Maori culture).

(Possible Credit: Anthropology, Sociology, History, Cross-Cultural Studies.) 

  Indigenous Cultures, History & Identity syllabus