Theological Studies

Unit overview and content

This unit provides students with the foundational skills and knowledge necessary for graduate study in Theology. It introduces the student to the disciplines of Biblical Studies and Theology. Students will gain a firm foundation of specialised knowledge in these areas and will be ready for further study in Biblical Studies, Theology, Leadership, or Religious Education.

Unit content includes:

• • The God who reveals, the God who is revealed
  • The Trinity at the centre of faith
  • Belief in Christ
  • The community of belief in Jesus Christ
  • The scriptures as the revelation of God
  • Theology and Scripture in dialogue with our lives
  • Faith and the experience of women in the church
  • Faith in Action: Towards a civilization of love
  • Faith in an age of ecological crisis
  • Faith and science
  • Faith and technology

Assumed Knowledge 

N/A

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Session 1 – Prof Gerard Moore
Session 2 – Dr Cristina Lledo Gomez
Session 3 – Dr Cristina Lledo Gomez

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit builds on the skills and knowledge developed in Biblical Studies in THEO800 and deepens knowledge in this specialised field. Students will learn to critically examine and interpret biblical texts. The unit utilises the tools of contemporary Biblical Studies to examine major themes and texts found in both the Old and New Testaments (the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures).

Assumed Knowledge 

N/A

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of

• At least one hour per week for online lectures
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Dr Jonathan Thambyrajah

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit builds on the skills and knowledge developed in the area of Theological Studies in THEO800 and provides students with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in this specialised field. Students will study theology as a ‘discipline among disciplines’ as it has been expressed in history and with a special focus on its various manifestations today and its approach to faith and revelation. The course will pay particular attention to important theologians and vital theological issues in the current context.

The unit will cover the following content:

• Theology, its foundations, and its methods across the traditions
• Theology and Faith
• Theology and Revelation
• Theology Today

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of

• At least one hour per week for online lectures
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Students who have completed THEO920 Christology should NOT enrol in THEO820.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides an opportunity for an in-depth encounter with Christ: the eternal Word of God made flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth; and the risen, universal Christ who promised to be with us always. The unit explores theological understandings of Jesus, his strategy, words, deeds, and death including many of the debates surrounding the reasons for his crucifixion and the Church’s Christological formulations.  It also explores his resurrection and several areas of contemporary study in the field of Christology.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of

• At least one hour per week for online lectures
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Dr Charles Waddell

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides an introduction to the principles and practices of liturgy and its underpinning theology within the Catholic tradition. It examines the nature of Christian ritual and liturgy, and its origins and development. There is a special focus on the significant reforms of the Second Vatican Council through a critical exploration of key liturgical documents and rites, including an overview of the sacraments. Students will explore a variety of questions and issues concerning contemporary liturgy.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of

• At least one hour per week for online lectures
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Prof Gerard Moore

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides students with the opportunity to deepen their knowledge in the field of theology through sustained engagement with the works of key contemporary theologians and their approach to vital issues of the day.

In light of this, students will be introduced to the thought of three contemporary theologians. They will be invited to engage with US theologian Elizabeth Johnson (b. 1941 -) , Australian theologian Denis Edwards (1943-2019), and Filipina theologian Agnes Brazal (b. 1960 -). Devoting four weeks to each theologian will allow students to have a sense of the issues and questions they engage with, the progression of their thought, their theological method, and the implications of their work.

• For Professor Emerita Elizabeth A. Johnson – Click to view BIO
• For Professor Denis Edwards – Click to view BIO
• For Professor Agnes Brazal – Click to view BIO

Assumed knowledge or prerequisites

It will be expected that students have successfully completed THEO800 & THEO801  from the BBI Graduate Certificate in Theological Studies, unless otherwise approved by the unit coordinator. Students who enter the Master of Theological Studies with the equivalent of prior study in theology or a cognate discipline at the Graduate Certificate level will be understood to have met this requirement.

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• Directed supervision and directed reading

Lecturer

Dr Cristina Lledo Gomez

Teaching methods

Online Directed Supervision

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

Advanced studies in the theology require students to have knowledge of, and to be able to apply, a diverse range of research principles and methodologies in order to be able to propose, justify and interpret theoretical propositions, conclusions and professional decisions in their leadership positions. Furthermore, graduates of the Master of Theological Studies need to demonstrate that they are able to communicate and implement their knowledge of these disciplines within diverse contexts and by using a range of presentation skills. In this unit, students will build up the foundational knowledge and skills required to demonstrate these outcomes which will be applied at a more advanced level at a later point in their course. The unit will provide an overview of research methodologies used within these disciplines and the opportunity to apply these to selected issues.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800, THEO801 & THEO820

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of

• At least one hour per week for online lectures
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This capstone project provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate their attainment of the requisite course outcomes for the Master of Theological Studies course by synthesising the knowledge they have attained throughout their studies with the advanced research and presentation skills that they have developed into a research or research/application project of their own choosing.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800, THEO801 & THEO820

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Dr Michelle Jones

Teaching methods

Online lectures; one-to-one supervision.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides the opportunity for students to study the background and literature of the Hebrew Bible, commonly referred to as the Old Testament, at an advanced level with a particular focus on the theme of leadership. The unit utilises the tools of Biblical scholarship to study in detail the concepts of priests and the associated sacrificial system, the rise and fall of the monarchy, and the place of prophets in the Hebrew Bible.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides the opportunity for students to study the background and literature of the New Testament, also known as the Christian Scriptures, at an advanced level. The unit utilises the tools of Biblical scholarship to study in detail the distinctive characteristics of the four Gospels, with particular attention to the use of story to convey theological meaning.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Dr Jonathan Thambyrajah

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides the opportunity for students to study the background and literature of the Bible, both Hebrew Bible and New testament, at an advanced level. The unit looks at whether the literature of the Bible can be considered ‘Historical’ and the nature of the historicity of selected texts. It will examine in brief the philosophy of history and ancient forms of historiography before a more detailed examination of different types of literature in the Bible and their historical value.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit introduces students to the most prominent Biblical Narratives, their nature, and the tools used to study them. Next, students will interpret them in light of their original historical and literary context. Finally, students will critically review the use and re-use of these narratives in ancient and modern interpretation and apply them in a contemporary context.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Dr Jonathan Thambyrajah

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides the opportunity for specialised study in a particular discipline under the tutelage and guidance of a specialist in the field. It seeks to further the learning experience of the student by engaging in issues aligned with a particular area within Biblical Studies in a specialised area of interest to the student.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO802 and one of THEO910, THEO911, THEO912 or THEO913

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least 10 hour per week of directed study, including reading, research, consultation with tutor and writing up of assessment tasks.

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This course is an advanced study of ecclesiology. Ecclesiology is a sub-discipline of systematic theology which emerged during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Ecclesiology is a systematic study of the nature and mission of the Church. The unit will consider factors which contributed to the development of this discipline and examine key theologians and ecclesiologies. The unit will examine a variety of historical and contemporary theological understandings of the Christian Church, with an emphasis on the ecclesiology of communion emerging from Vatican II.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

11 hours per week for 11 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least four hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Dr Charles Waddell

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides students with an opportunity to discover the relevance of theology in the context of the present ecological and climate crises. It introduces students to an ecologically sensitive reading of the Bible and interpretation of the theology of creation. Building on these, students will explore insights from ecology, (eco)feminist theology, Australian Aboriginal cosmology, and liberation theology to form an ecologically aware understanding of the relationships between the Triune God, the world as God’s creation, and humanity. Drawing, among others, on Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, students will gain an understanding of the ethical, liturgical, spiritual, and other practical dimensions of a Christian response to the ecological crisis.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Dr Gerard Moore

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides the opportunity for specialised study in a particular discipline under the tutelage and guidance of a specialist in the field. It seeks to further the learning experience of the student by engaging in issues aligned with a particular area within Systematic Theology in a specialised area of interest to the student.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800, THEO801 & THEO820

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least 10 hour per week of directed study, including reading, research, consultation with tutor and writing up of assessment tasks.

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit presents a foundational study of the theology and rites of the sacraments with a focus on those of Roman Catholicism. It enables students to draw on their skills in the disciplines of theology and biblical studies to critically investigate the various components and approaches in sacramental theology including exploration of semiotics, and anthropological, Christological, ecclesiological dimensions. Students will have the opportunity to explore the implications of sacramental-liturgical theology as the source of Christian spirituality and mission.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Prof Gerard Moore

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides the opportunity for specialised study in a particular discipline under the tutelage and guidance of a specialist in the field. It seeks to further the learning experience of the student by engaging in issues aligned with a particular area within liturgical and sacramental theology in a specialised area of interest to the student.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800, THEO801 & THEO820

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least 10 hour per week of directed study, including reading, research, consultation with tutor and writing up of assessment tasks.

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit is an advanced study in the discipline of theological ethics. Its key question will be: to what extent does an individual or a group’s theology influence their answer to the question, what must I do? The unit will examine responses to this question, including those from important philosophers and theologians throughout the ages. The unit will culminate by providing students with the opportunity to explore contemporary issues of ethical importance and applying their skills in the discipline of moral theology and ethical reasoning to the exploration of these issues in a critical manner. The unit will include a strong focus on theological ethics within the Catholic tradition, but will also consider broad and diverse perspectives throughout.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

A/Prof Anthony Gooley

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides an advanced study of the body of thought known as Catholic Social Teaching (CST). It begins by situating CST in its philosophical context, examining a variety of theories of justice, from Plato and Aristotle through to modern philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and John Rawls. Out of this foundation it then examines, in-depth, the historical development of modern Catholic Social Teaching, especially as it has been expressed in official documents and by experts in the field. Finally, the course allows students to apply their advanced knowledge of this field to a particular case study of their choice.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Mr Paul Wilson

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit is a foundational study in the field of Missiology. It explores in-depth the evolving nature of the Christian Church’s understanding of its mission over the centuries, recognising the relationship between this and the way in which the world has changed throughout history. The course also critically evaluates the theological reasons for Christian understandings of proclamation, liberation, and dialogue as crucial issues in today’s secular and pluralistic societies.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

11 hours per week for 11 week session, comprised of

• At least 1 hour per week for online lectures
• At least 4 hours per week of reading.
• At least 6 hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

Are faith and science in conflict? If there is such a conflict, is it inevitable? If there is conflict has that always been present or did it develop at some stage? Are there other ways of thinking about faith and science beyond conflict? These are just some of the questions we will explore in this unit. Each week we will encounter the key sources that will help us consider the relationship and some of the significant thinkers in science and religion who have contributed to the study of these question. There will be a focus on the Christian faith tradition, and the reason for this will become obvious as the unit unfolds, but other traditions will be touched upon.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Rev Assoc. Prof. Anthony Gooley

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides students with the opportunity to study the cultural, historical and political context of the life of Mary MacKillop Australia’s’ first Church – recognised Saint. An understanding of culture is intrinsic to any study of persons and eras. Culture dictates who we are and how we behave. This course looks at the background of Mary MacKillop and her ancestors in the Lochaber district of the Inner Hebrides in the west coast of Scotland. One very disruptive event in Scotland’s history was the Highland Clearances which, though devastating at the time, meant that the Colonies of the British Empire were enriched with many Scottish migrants. Mary’s parents were from the MacKillop and MacDonald Clans,  the latter was a sept of the former meaning that Mary’s mother’s clan was superior to that of her father. The Highland Clearances meant that Mary MacKillop was born Australian rather than Scottish.

Equally important in human flourishing is the historical, political and cultural context of peoples’ lives. These aspects will be addressed as the context for the social and educational changes Mary MacKillop introduced. No story of Mary MacKilllop would be complete without reference to Fr Julian Tenison Woods, her inspiration and the ‘Father Founder’ of the Institute of St Joseph they founded.  Finally, given the sceptical atmosphere of our 21 century world-view the notions of sainthood, miracles and all associated concepts will be discussed with a view to understanding the Spirit that energized Mary MacKillop and ultimately the spirituality which underpinned her educational and social endeavours. Mary is presented within the unit as a model of the spirituality that is fitting for contemporary Australians.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

11 hours per week for 11 week session, comprised of

• At least 1 hour per week for online lectures
• At least 4 hours per week of reading.
• At least 6 hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides an introduction to the spirituality emanating from the life, teaching and tradition of the early Father of the Church, Augustine of Hippo, 354-430AD. Augustinian Spirituality provides a theological underpinning for our appreciation of why acts of justice are seen to be essential for followers of Christ in their ministering to the poor, the disenfranchised, the refugee and the enslaved in any age.

The content of this unit will cover the biographical details of Augustine’s life; the currency of his thought contained in his homilies, letters and his great books; the values embedded in the practice of the Rule of Life which has been lived out over 16 centuries and the influence he has made on the spiritual writings of modern Popes and the Second Vatican Council.

The unit allows students to apply the impact of this content onto their ability to be in mission for the Church amongst the poor and marginalised members of our society.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturers

Mr Paul Wilson

Fr Paul Maloney

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit studies each of the four women Doctors of the Church – Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila and Thérèse of Lisieux. It considers their significance in their particular historical contexts, their theological insights and the relevance of these insights in the twenty-first century.  The unit also explores the contributions these women can make to discussions about the role of women as teachers and leaders in the contemporary Church.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least one hour per week for online lectures.
• At least three hours per week of reading.
• At least six hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Dr Michelle Jones

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides the opportunity for specialised study in a particular discipline under the tutelage and guidance of a specialist in the field. It seeks to further the learning experience of the student by engaging in issues aligned with a particular area within mission and culture in a specialised area of interest to the student.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800, THEO801 & THEO890

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least 10 hour per week of directed study, including reading, research, consultation with tutor and writing up of assessment tasks.

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit of study is designed to engage students in a conversation about the ways in which Christian Second Peoples live on Indigenous land. It seeks a critical understanding of the rights and dignity of First Peoples who may also be Christian. After 60,000 years of occupation Australia’s First Peoples found themselves invaded and dispossessed by British colonial power. What does this mean for the way Christian Second Peoples live in this land and forge their identity as a people of Christian faith? This is not an Indigenous Studies Unit.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of

• At least 1 hour per week for online lectures
• At least 3 hours per week of reading.
• At least 6 hours per week of directed study, including optional and assessable online activities.

Lecturer

Rev Dr. Chris Budden

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides the opportunity for specialised study in a particular discipline under the tutelage and guidance of a specialist in the field. It seeks to further the learning experience of the student by engaging in issues aligned with a particular area within contemporary issues in theology in a specialised area of interest to the student.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800, THEO801 & THEO820

Study hours

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• At least 10 hour per week of directed study, including reading, research, consultation with tutor and writing up of assessment tasks.

Teaching methods

Online lectures; online activities; guided reading; scaffolded assessments; feedback on assessments.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.

Unit overview and content

This unit provides students with the opportunity to critically reflect on an approved immersion experience that they have undertaken (such as a pilgrimage, study tour, or volunteer work) under the guidance of an expert in the relevant discipline area (such as theology, biblical studies, leadership, religious education, or governance and canon law). The precise focus of the unit will be determined through discussion between the student and the relevant expert. The generic focus of the unit will be on students utilising their experience as a foundation for critical reflection in dialogue with substantial research, following the assessment schedule prescribed below.

Assumed Knowledge 

THEO800 & THEO801

Study hours    

10 hours per week for 12 week session, comprised of:

• 9 hours per week of independent study.
• 12 hours (approximately) across the semester of guided study in dialogue with the supervisor.

Teaching methods

Guided reading; independent research.

Indicative Assessment

At the Institute we use a range of assessment tasks, including essays, research papers, online posts, critical reflections, projects and praxis exercises. Within a unit of study each set of assessment tasks is designed as an integral part of your learning experience. These tasks vary across units and programs. All assessment tasks are aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework level appropriate for graduate awards.