Are there practices by which you can cultivate what it takes to live a flourishing life?

This course aims to assist you in finding the answers to these questions for yourself, building a sustainable base for flourishing during your undergraduate years and beyond. You will explore scientific, philosophical, and artistic ideas about flourishing, while experimenting with contemplative practices that work directly with your mind, body, emotions, and relationships. Together, after exploring the foundations of flourishing, we will investigate the cultivation of flourishing according to a model with five dimensions (foundations, awareness, connection, wisdom and integration.)

Video: Briana Blackwell describes the Art and Science of Human Flourishing

Article: A student perspective on the Art and Science of Human Flourishing

Course number: HHD & AA 197

This course offers students the opportunity to investigate the processes of healthy aging and maturation from a transdisciplinary perspective that draws upon developmental and biomedical science, contemplative (e.g., mindfulness & compassion practice), art and embodiment practices, and their own experience. Topics will focus on understanding common experiences and challenges that people face in the context of psychological, behavioral, social, and biological changes that they experience during adulthood. Course activities include small group discussions and structured exercises that reinforce concepts introduced in lectures and assigned readings. Students will develop conceptual knowledge, experiential insight, and practical skills for navigating adulthood, building meaningful intergenerational relationships, and cultivating an awareness of shared humanity and inclusivity across generations.

Course number: HDFS 497x

Mindfulness has become a pillar of many programs and practices within human development and education. In this course, we will (1) explore the research on why and how mindfulness can support healthy development across the lifespan and (2) critically examine how prevention and intervention programs aim to cultivate these skills. Students will also experience a variety of meditations throughout the course as we discuss how to integrate these practices into our personal and professional lives.

Course number: HDFS111

This course will explore the roles of aesthetic experience, the arts, and creativity in personal and collective flourishing, and offer experiential learning opportunities for students to develop their aesthetic awareness and creative capacity through observing, participating in, and reflecting on various kinds of artistic performances, art installations, and art-making activities, and exploring the role that aesthetic experience plays in their identity development and flourishing. This course was made possible with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Associate Teaching Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Molly Countermine has a teaching style that embodies empathy, compassion and awareness. She sums up her approach as “Grace before grades, relationships before rigor” and believes deeply that students learn best from people they trust.

Dr. Countermine begins each class with an arrival practice, a 2-minute meditation that allows everyone to take a break out of their busy schedules and re-focus. She may read a poem, a passage from a book, or a use a guided meditation practice.