Dreaming the land

Dreaming the Land: Theologies of Resistance and Hope is a theme that testifies to the contextual nature of practical theology. This present volume contains a collection of essays with international contributions to practical theology. In their original form, these essays were presented at the seventh biennial conference of the International Academy of Practical Theology (IAPT) held at Brisbane/Australia in June 2005. The dreaming and the land are both concepts central to the thinking of the aboriginal peoples of Australia. The dreaming encompasses the creative and life giving forces which govern and express the lifeworld of these same people, while the land is sacred space where the spirits of the ancestors of all human, plant and animal life are represented. The theme is the common thread in the first part of the book. Here, the search for Theologies of Resistance and Hope is related to experiences in the southern hemisphere, to issues of the land as a concept for practical theology and to questions of human rights.