Lecture: MoWe 2:30 – 3:45 p.m. | Sherman Hall 207

Lisa Beall

Discussion: We 4 –  5:15p.m. | Engineering 122

Staff

How do we define the "good life"? Is success defined by money, possessions, and status or are there other, just as important, ways to achieve prosperity? What limits are placed on individual success by culture, class systems, and/or access to opportunity? How do we determine professional and personal standards of success? In this seminar, students will examine the concepts of wealth and prosperity as represented in literature, drama, history, psychology, and religion. The experiences of characters from text and film will be analyzed for how wealth and prosperity (in whatever way they are defined) can impact an individual and the society in which he/she lives in both positive and negative ways. Through class activities and out-of-class assignments, students will begin to identify the "wealth" they currently have, what they desire, the means for achieving their desired forms of wealth, and to consider forms of wealth and prosperity that have yet to be defined for them. Determining a personal definition of prosperity is the first step toward establishing goals and making plans for attaining them.