Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Course Description
This course examines how a variety of cultural traditions approach and propose answers to the question of how to live a meaningful life. We consider the meaning of life, not as a philosophical abstraction, but as a matter with which individuals grapple in their daily lives and communities, facing difficult decisions between meeting and defying cultural expectations. The course aims to provide tools for thinking about moral and ethical decisions as social and historical practices, and permits students to compare and contextualize how people in different times and places approach fundamental — though not necessarily universal — questions to do with such topics as family, wealth, self-cultivation, sex, belonging, and powers beyond.
Text
Required
Hamdy, Sherine, and Coleman Nye. Lissa: A Story about Medical Promise, Friendship, and Revolution. University of Toronto Press, 2017. ISBN: 9781487593476. [Preview with Google Books]
Suggested
Kavedžija, Iza, and Harry Walker, eds. Values of Happiness: Toward an Anthropology of Purpose in Life. HAU, 2017. ISBN: 9780986132575.
All other readings can be found in the Readings section.
Grading
| ACTIVITIES | PERCENTAGES |
|---|---|
| Attendance and participation | 15% |
| “Moral Moment” vignette | 5% |
| Investigation papers (3 x 20% each) | 60% |
| Final paper | 20% |
Detailed information for the vignette and investigation papers can be found in the Assignments section.
