Happiness: Cross-Cultural Perspectives (U00715)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : SPS-3-SAHAPP

This course will review the extent to which the social sciences have engaged with the topic of happiness from the Enlightenment to the present day. 'Happiness' will be broadly conceived, encompassing all subject appraisal of the quality of life and related matters such as aspiration and motives for this-worldly and other-worldly outcomes, and ethical judgements. Students will also address the literatures and policies relating to unhappiness and suffering, and discuss the pathologism of the social sciences as a cause for inadequate explicit analysis of social and cultural dimensions of happiness. The course will review cultural concepts and philosophies relating to happiness (such as utilitarianism and asceticism), as well as looking at the evidence of real-world differences in the achievement of happiness in diverse contexts and life-stages.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Visiting students must have prior study in Social Anthropology or closely related subject area; as a general guide we usually require students to have completed three courses at grade B or above.

? Costs : None

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Social Anthropology, (School of Social and Political Studies, Schedule J)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 1 hour(s) 50 minutes per week for 11 weeks

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Thursday	11:10	13:00	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Students who complete the course will have:
- better appreciation of the importance of happiness as a topic in social analysis, social policies, and ethical debate
- stronger awareness of the importance of evaluative judgement in social analysis, and of the deficiencies in evaluation that result from a)inadequate cross-cultural perspectives, and b)inadequate explicitly attention to happiness as a criterion for judging social quality and quality of life
- better awareness of the evidence concerning the achievement of happiness in diverse contexts worldwide, and of the gaps in understanding and evidence that need to be addressed
- an enriched understanding of the evolution of the social sciences through appreciating the ways in which happiness has been foregrounded in the past and backgrounded for the past 100 years