Common Ground

Week 1 HAPPINESS

Tuesday, 5/9 – Essay 1: Finding Common Ground due on Sunday, 5/14, at 11:55 p.m. Upload Essay 1

to Digication.

Class introductions. Go over the syllabus, course website, focus and purpose of the class.

Go over assignment sheet, rubric, and a sample student paper for Essay 1: Finding Common Ground.

Watch Benjamin Wallace’s “The Price of Happiness,” Michael Norton’s “How to Buy Happiness,” Ron

Gutman’s “The Hidden Power of Smiling,” Robert Waldinger’s “What Makes a Good Life: Lessons from

the Longest Study on Happiness,” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s “Flow, the Secret to Happiness,” Daniel

Kahneman’s “The Riddle of Experience Vs. Memory,” Barry Schwartz’s “The Paradox of Choice” and

Malcolm Gladwell’s “Choice, Happiness, and Spaghetti Sauce.”

Watch some speeches on happiness, Dan Gilbert’s “The Surprising Science of Happiness,” Stefan

Sagmeister’s “Happiness by Design,” Graham Hill’s “Less Stuff, More Happiness,” Matt

Killingsworth’s “Want to Be Happier? Stay in the Moment,” Nancy Etcoff’s “Happiness and Its

Surprises,” and Scott Dinsmore’s “How to Find Work You Love.”

Recommended: Watch “Minimalism: A Documentary about the Important Things” on Netflix.

Class discussion on happiness. Go over any questions about Essay 1. Continue to go over writing

strategies for Essay 1. HW: Complete “Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting” homework assignment on Moodle.

Due Sunday, 5/14, at 11:55 p.m.

HW: Complete “Introducing Your Paper” homework assignment on Moodle. Due Sunday, 5/14,

at 11:55 p.m.

HW: Complete “Titling Your Paper” homework assignment on Moodle. Due Sunday, 5/14, at

11:55 p.m.

HW: Complete “APA” homework assignment on Moodle in class.