(Cross listed with PSYCH 2311)

College students face the challenge of how to craft meaningful lives for themselves. This course provides them with a combination of knowledge, tools, inspiration, and space for reflection. This course exposes students to the ways in which the most essential topics of their everyday lives (i.e. happiness, intimacy, money, despair) have long been taken up by scientists and artists alike. The Monday lectures will focus on the “science” of these topics and the Wednesday lectures will approach those same topics through four artistic disciplines (literature, music, art, and theatre). In smaller Friday break-out sections, students will engage in a series of activities that complement what they have been learning in the classroom: from meditation and drawing, to drumming and movement.

Out of class preparation will be minimal, but regular attendance and participation are vital to one's success in this course. There will be weekly mastery quizzes on the science lectures and three creative engagements with the art. There are no pre-requisites for this class other than the desire to be open to the material, the experiences, and the community.