First-Year Seminars 110HP - Happiness and the Good Life

This course introduces the skills needed to navigate college, with a focus on philosophical writing, analysis and argument. Our topic is happiness and 'the good life.' Happiness is something we all want but often struggle to define. We will look at what philosophers have said about the nature and importance of happiness in our lives, as well as recent positive psychology literature on what makes us happy and why. While we draw from multiple disciplines the emphasis of the class is on philosophical analysis and argument. Students will learn to integrate campus resources, such as LITS and the SAW Center, into their coursework, as they hone skills in clear, rigorously argued, analytic writing.

Mount Holyoke first-year students only, by placement.