Washington and Lee University
organized by Jeff Kosky, Jon Eastwood, Karla Murdock, Tim Diette and Art Goldsmith
A quick look at the bestseller lists tells of a widespread interest in and concern about happiness. Echoed in the morning talk shows and the evening news hours, happiness seems more and more a national obsession.
The current interest in happiness is not confined just to consumers of the popular media, but extends also to academic experts in fields as wide-ranging as psychology, economics, sociology, philosophy and religion. Since everybody, it seems, truly does care about and have something to say about happiness, it's a topic where the knowledges produced by disciplinary expertise might come together, shape one another, and respond to one another in a truly interdisciplinary fashion.
The Questioning the Good Life seminar series is a year-long colloquium that seizes these opportunities. The colloquium is organized around a series of six visiting speakers, chosen for the discipline they represent as well as for the perspective they will bring to our study of happiness. Each of the speakers is a leader in his or her field and one whose popularity extends beyond the narrow confine of their discipline.
While each of the speakers will give a public talk to the University community, students and faculty may apply to join a core group of committed seminar participants, who will meet throughout the year to:
Fill out our online application to indicate your interest.