This exciting new course treats the history of discourses about happiness, focusing especially on four historical episodes. They are ancient Greek philosophy, contemporary positive psychology, Buddhism (and its interpretation in the light of positive psychology), and Sufism. The course seeks to understand what a range of human beings in history have thought happiness consists in, and how they sought to achieve it, and will to put these understandings in dialogue with contemporary positive psychology. The course considers not only virtue and positive emotions (affect) but also ethical action and practices of meditation and mindfulness. The course requires attendance at lecture and, when sectioned, at discussion sections. Class attendance is mandatory and required to pass the class. Students will keep a weekly journal recording their acts of altruism and thankfulness, write a weekly short poem or piece of flash fiction, and take a midterm and a final.

Fulfills requirements for History Minor in Global History, History of Medicine & Health, and Religion

Class Texts:

Attar, Farid al-Din. Trans. Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis. Conference of the Birds (London: Penguin, 1984)

Carr, Alan. Positive psychology: the science of happiness and human strengths (New York: Routledge, 2011).

Carrithers, Michael. Buddha: A Very Short Introduction. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001) via Mirlyn.

Ernst, Carl. Sufism: An Introduction to the Mystical Tradition of Islam (Boulder, Co.: Shambhala, 2011).

Hanson, Rick, Jahttp:ck Kornfield, and Daniel J. Siegel. Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom (Harbinger Press, 2011) (via Mirlyn).

Knysh, Alexander. Sufism : A New History of Islamic Mysticism (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017), chapter 4 (via Canvas).

Rumi, Jalal al-Din. Trans. Coleman Barks et al. The Essential Rumi (San Francisco: Harper, 1995).

White, Nicholas. A Brief History of Happiness (London: Blackwell, 2006) (via Mirlyn).

Online Resources:

How to Write a Haiku (Writing Cooperative

Juan Cole, "How to Write a Rubaiyat"

"Learn how to Write Flash Fiction"

Jan. 5 Orientation

PART I: HAPPINESS, BRAIN NEUROPLASTICITY, AND EASTERN TRADITIONS

Jan. 10 Suffering and Happiness

Hanson, Buddha’s Brain, Chaps. 1-3

Carrithers, Buddha, chap. 1

The Four Noble Truths

Buddha, Sutra on Impermanence (Anityatāsūtra)

Jan. 12 Happiness

Hanson, Buddha’s Brain, 4-6

Carrithers, Buddha, chap. 2

Buddha, Dhammapada, 15-16

Jan. 17 Martin Luther King Day

Jan. 19 Equanimity and Love

Hanson, Buddha’s Brain, Chaps. 7-8

Carrithers, Buddha, chap. 3

Jan. 24 Compassion and Kindness

Hanson, Buddha’s Brain, Chaps. 9-10

Carrithers, Buddha, chap. 4

Buddha, Karuniya Metta Sutta

Jan. 26 Wisdom

Hanson, Buddha’s Brain, Chaps. 11-13

Carrithers, Buddha, chap. 5

Buddha, Dhammapada, 14

PART II: THE CLASSICAL PHILOSOPHY OF HAPPINESS

Jan 31 Greek Conceptions of Happiness

White, A Brief History, Chaps. 1-2
Plato, Euthydemus

Feb. 2 Snow Day

Feb. 7 Pleasure, Hedonism and Measurement

White, A Brief History, chap. 3

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, 1.

Feb. 9 Happiness to Harmony

White, A Brief History, chap. 4

Feb. 14 Morality

White, A Brief History, chap. 5

Feb. 16 Review toward the Exam

Feb. 21 Midterm

PART III: SUFISM AS A SPIRITUAL TRADITION: THE OTHER HELLENISM

Feb. 23 What is Sufism?

Ernst, Sufism, chaps. 1-2

Seyyed Hossein Nasr, “Happiness and the Attainment of Happiness: An Islamic Perspective,” 29 The Journal of Law and Religion 76 (2014)

Mar. 7 Hellenism and Sufi Poetry

Knysh, Sufism, chap. 4 (in Canvas, under “Files” tab)
Ernst, Sufism, chap. 6

Video: Rumi: Poetry of the Heart" (6 mins.)

Mar. 9 Sufi Practice

Ernst, Sufism, chapter 3

Attar, Conference of the Birds, ll. 2812-3491

Rumi, Essential Rumi

Cry out in your Weakness, pp. 156-157
Ali in Battle, 223-224

Ernst, Sufism, chap. 5
Essential Rumi

The Three Fish, pp. 194-197
Polishing the Mirror, p. 222

Nazila Isgandarova, "Muraqaba as a Mindfulness-Based Therapy in Islamic Psychotherapy," Journal of Religion and Health (2019) 58:1146–1160.

Mar. 16 Love, Romance and Humanity

Ernst, Sufism, chap. 7
Attar, Conference of the Birds, ll. 1326-2132
Rumi, Essential Rumi

Two Ways of Running, 178-180
Solomon Poems, pp. 186-190
Send the Chaperones Away, pp. 198-199
The King and the Handmaiden, pp. 225-232

William Chittick, "Love in Islamic Thought," Religion Compass8/7 (2014): 229–238.

Video: Nusret Fateh Ali Khan, "Dam Mast Qalandar"

Mar. 21 Optimism, Mindfulness, Creativity

Rumi, Essential Rumi

Chinese Art and Greek Art, pp. 121-122
Father Reason, pp. 145-146
Body Intelligence, pp. 150-152

S. Haque Nizamie et al. , "Sufism and mental health," Indian J Psychiatry. 2013 Jan; 55(Suppl 2): S215–S223.

Mar. 23 Justice

Radha D’Souza, "What Can Activist Scholars Learn from Rumi?" Philosophy East and West, Volume 64, Number 1, January 2014, pp. 1-24.

PART IV: THE RISE OF CONTEMPORARY POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

Mar. 28 Happiness and Positivity

Carr, Positive Psychology, 1-2

Mar. 30 Cole at Conference, no class.

Apr. 4 Hope

Carr, Positive Psychology, 3

Apr. 6 FLow

Carr, Positive Psychology, 4

Apr. 11 Wisdom and Creativity

Carr, Positive Psychology, 5-6

Apr. 13 Coping and Relationships

Carr, Positive Psychology, 7-8

Apr. 18 Review toward the Exam.

Academic Integrity Policy: History 291 follows the academic integrity guidelines set forth by the College of LSA and the History Department. Students should familiarize themselves with both of these documents, which explain the standards of academic integrity and clarify the prohibited forms of academic misconduct. Students in History 241 should utilize the Chicago Manual of Style Online for all issues of source citation, along with any specific guidelines provided in the course assignments. Clarifying the disciplinary standards of research ethics and source citation is part of the educational mission of this course, and students should consult the faculty instructor and/or GSI regarding any questions. The penalties for deliberate cases of plagiarism and/or other forms of academic misconduct are a failing grade on the assignment. Cases that the instructor judges to be particularly serious, or those in which the student contests the charge of academic misconduct, will be handled by the office of the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education. All cases of deliberate academic misconduct that result in formal sanctions of any kind will be reported to the dean’s office, as required by LSA policy, which also ensures due process rights of appeal for students.

Syllabus online here: http://www-personal.umich.edu/%7Ejrcole/syl/war/syl390.html

Return to Juan R.I. Cole Syllabi.

WebMaster: Juan R.I. Cole