Understanding & Seeking Happiness

This interdisciplinary program explores well-being through psychology, philosophy, economics, public health, and lived community experience.

Students examine how concepts such as freedom, money, non-attachment, purpose, and meaning operate not only as abstract ideas but as lived categories shaping individual and collective life.

Field-based inquiry connects classroom theory with community engagement, reflective practice, and systems analysis, integrating evidence-based frameworks with culturally rooted well-being traditions.

Programs are designed with safety-conscious, research-informed framing, encouraging critical evaluation of traditional and complementary well-being systems while maintaining cultural humility and reciprocity.

Students will:

Compare major models of well-being across psychology, philosophy, economics, and contemplative traditions.
Analyze freedom, money, non-attachment, and meaning as field inquiry categories rather than abstract ideals.
Examine how dignity, agency, and access influence well-being at both individual and community levels.
Practice ethical community engagement and reciprocity as components of sustainable well-being.
Ask compelling questions such as:
- Does freedom always increase happiness?
- How does money interact with dignity and security?
- Can non-attachment coexist with ambition and modern economic life?
- What makes meaning durable across cultural contexts?
Produce a structured Well-Being Field Workbook integrating conceptual frameworks, observation logs, and reflective evidence.