A recent article in Inside Higher Ed shares research on how “good life courses” can prepare undergraduate students for more productive and meaningful lives.
Kristina Callina, Alicia Lynch, and Michael Murray conducted interviews with and collected survey data from professors and their students from 14 colleges and universities to determine if such courses work and how they work. They report their findings and explore the rising interest in such courses across the country in “Teaching the Good Life” (September 19, 2023). They identify “the essential pedagogical features of good life courses, how they impact students’ sense of purpose and well-being, and what educators can do to optimize successful implementation of good life courses at their postsecondary institutions.”
Not only do the findings show that these courses are valuable for students, but they also suggest that such courses can bring new energy to the humanities disciplines that often house and support them.
One of the institutions mentioned in the article, the University of Notre Dame, is home to a course called “God and the Good Life.” Among its teachers is UND philosophy professor Meghan Sullivan, who will deliver the keynote address at the 2024 NetVUE Conference.
Stephanie L. Johnson is the editor of Vocation Matters.