Overview of Course

What is going right in life? What makes life worth living? What insights and tools can you use to thrive in life? These are questions posed by the field of Positive Psychology. In this course, students will learn research and theory pertaining to positive psychology. Together, we will explore what it means to be happy, and how the answer may depend on what country, culture, and time you live in. In class meetings and readings, we will draw on current research and theory pertaining to the study of strengths, flourishing, happiness, meaning, and well-being. We will learn about the relationship between Eastern religions and emotion regulation and examine different cultural notions of the good life. In addition, we will explore Eastern religions and practices as tools for decreasing stress and anxiety and increasing peace and calm. We will also experiment with Western approaches (and adaptations) to feeling good such as exercise, gratitude, relationships, achievement, and purpose. Students in this course will build their own personal positive psychology toolkit that can be utilized to navigate difficult times.