ES.S60
Special Seminar in Social Science
Covers topics not included in the permanent curriculum. May not be used for GIR credit, but may be repeated for credit with permission of instructor. Preference to students in ESG.
Spring 2013 · The Art and Science of Happiness
Topics
- Finding meaning in our lives
- Open topic (to be decided by students), evaluations and wrap up
Readings
- [Csikszentmihalyi] = Csikszentmihalyi, Mihali. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience . Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2008. ISBN: 9780061339202.
- [DL] = His Holiness the Lama, Dalai and Howard C. Cutler. The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living . 10th Anniversary ed. Riverhead Books, 2009. ISBN: 9781594488894.
- [Lyubomirsky] = Lyubomirsky, Sonja. The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want . Penguin Books, 2008. ISBN: 9780143114956.
- [Ricard] = Ricard, Matthieu. Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill . Translated by Jesse Browner. Little, Brown, and Company, 2007. ISBN: 9780316167253.
- [Schwartz] = Schwartz, Barry. The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less . Harper Perennial, 2005. ISBN: 9780060005696.
- [Seligman] = Seligman, Martin E. P. Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment . Atria Books, 2004. ISBN: 9780743222983.
- [Weiner] = Weiner, Eric. The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World . Twelve, 2009. ISBN: 9780446698894.
- [Peterson] Chapter 1. “What Is Positive Psychology?”
- [DL] Chapter 3. “Training the Mind for Happiness.”
- [Ricard] Chapter 1. “Talking About Happiness.”
- [Seligman] Chapter 6. “Optimism about the Future.”
- [Peterson] Chapter 5. “Positive Thinking.”
- [DL] Chapter 8. “Facing Suffering.”
- [Ricard] Chapter 6. “The Alchemy of Suffering.”
- American Psychiatric Association. Read the description of depression in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Text Revision, DSM-IV-TR . 4th ed. American Psychiatric Association, 2000. ISBN: 9780890420256.
- [DL] Chapter 5. “A New Model for Intimacy.”
- [Peterson] Chapter 10. “Positive Interpersonal Relationships.”
- [Csikszentmihalyi] Chapter 1. “Happiness Revisited.”
- [Peterson] Chapter 9. “Wellness.”
- [Weiner] Chapter 1. “The Netherlands: Happiness is a Number.”
- WEEK #: 11 · TOPICS: Finding meaning in our lives · READINGS: [Lyubomirsky] Chapter 8. “Happiness Activity No. 10: Committing to Your Goals.”
- WEEK #: 12 · TOPICS: Open topic (to be decided by students), evaluations and wrap up · READINGS: No readings
- Gilbert, Daniel. Stumbling on Happiness . Vintage Books, 2007. ISBN: 9781400077427.
Prerequisites & course information
Prereq: None U (Spring) Units arranged [P/D/F] Can be repeated for credit.
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Spring 2013
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.