Course Description

We all want to be happy. Many researchers in psychology, sociology, philosophy, medicine, and business have studied the role of happiness in modern life and how to create more of it for ourselves. Some researchers have studied how being happier in your life makes you better at your job. Other honors education scholars and positive psychology researchers have investigated how acquiring life skills for happiness may help increase our quality of life, while decreasing mental health concerns, such as depression and anxiety. Other professionals have begun to talk about this field as “the happiness advantage,” explaining how our brains function better when we are happier and less stressed. One researcher notes that when we are happier, we are 31% more productive, 37% better at sales, and that happier doctors are 19% more accurate coming up with a diagnosis” (Achor, TED Talk: “Happiness Advantage” (2011). 

In this 1 CR course, we will be doing happiness research on our own lives, using methods from several different fields. The goal is to learn practical tools that allow us to have better, more successful lives now and throughout our future. Being happier can help us bring about the positive changes we want to make in our world. To work toward this goal, students will spend 1 hour (or less) each day for 5 days a week practicing 5 short, concrete tasks (gratitude lists, journaling, meditation, exercise, and random acts of kindness). While course materials will be available online through Canvas, this class is NOT a typical online, asynchronous course. It is designed to be largely self-directed, giving students flexibility and autonomy to pursue their own journey toward more happiness. Since this class is on an ARR schedule, we will not meet in-person, together as a group, except twice during the first and last weeks of the term at times convenient for everyone’s schedule. 

Texts

Short readings and videos free on our Canvas site available to inspire our work may include:

Belle Beth Cooper, “10 Simple Things You Can Do Today That Will Make You Happier, Backed by Science”; TED Talks such as “Shawn Achor: The Happy Secret to Better Work,” “Nancy Etcoff: Happiness and Its Surprises,” “Ingrid Fetell Lee: Where Joy Hides and How to Find it,” “Martin Seligman: The New Era of Positive Psychology”; and others.

Recommended, but completely optional:

Happiness 101: Simple Secrets to Smart Living & Well-Being by Tim Bono

The Awesome Human Project: Break Free from Daily Burnout, Struggle Less, and Thrive More in Work and Life by Nataly Kogan

Requirements

Attendance/Participation (at the 2 in-person meetings), 6 brief Happiness Logs, 1 Research Summary (2-3 double-spaced pages), 1 Final Reflection Paper (3-5 double-spaced pages)

About the Instructor(s): Leslie Donovan

Leslie Donovan completed the Honors Program and her BA and MA at UNM, before earning her PhD in Medieval English Literature from the University of Washington in Seattle. She has published works on J.R.R. Tolkien, Beowulf, Old English women, and honors teaching. Dr. Donovan has been honored with multiple outstanding teaching awards, including UNM’s Presidential Teaching award. She is the Faculty Advisor for UNM’s Regents Scholars program and for the Hobbit Society student group.