Humanities 11

2014

Carruth

Happiness and Meaning: Project Description

It's a helluva start, being able to recogni e what makes you happy. ~ !ucille "all #appiness is not a goal...it's a by$pro%uct of a life well live%. ~ &leanor 'oosevelt

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life. ~Albert

Essential Questions

What is the purpose of your existence? What is happiness and what makes you happy? What does it mean to live a meaningful life? o what extent can literature shape your personal philosophy on happiness and meaning?

Learning Objectives
The Intangible Life Lesson Type Stuff
Develop the reflective tools !"uestioning# analy$ing# discussing# grappling# wallowing% to help you define happiness and meaning on your own terms& When faced with existential angst in the future# you will have healthy coping mechanisms to process that angst and come through stronger and with more clarity of purpose& 'onsider what circumstances !school# work# environment# people# activities# lifestyle# etc(% you need in your life to enhance your overall happiness and sense of meaning)fulfillment&

The Writing/Reading S ills

Develop short story analysis skills *ecogni$e literature as a way to hone one+s own philosophy on life ,pply strategies for the critical reading of a complex literary text Develop interpretive claims a-out literature .upport claims with textual evidence 'ompose a well/organi$ed 0/1 page literary analysis essay

Humanities 11

2014

Carruth

!roject Overvie"#
,m-rose 2ierce defines life as 3, spiritual pickle preserving the -ody from decay&4 ,ccording to 2ierce+s pessimistic ways# this is all there is to life& 5ur jo- in this project is to examine whether 2ierce+s suggestion is in fact complete and accurate& 6f your life amounts to nothing more than simply pressing the 3pause4 -utton for the decay of your -ody# then why toil# why strive# why aspire? 6n fact# why even continue to preserve the -ody from decay? hat is# why even continue to live? 2ecause we+re already doing it# so why change course? 2ecause everyone else is doing it? 2ecause as trifling# insignificant# misera-le# and dismal as life is# death might -e even worse? 6f Dorothy Parker is correct in saying# 36t+s not true that life is one damned thing after another& 6t+s the same damned thing over and over74# then it would not -e surprising to learn that she is the author of the following lines in her poem 3*8sum84: *a$ors pain you9 *ivers are damp9 ,cids stain you9 ,nd drugs cause cramp& :uns aren+t lawful9 ;ooses give9 :as smells awful9 <ou might as well live& 6f 2ierce and Parker are right# and life+s pointlessness is matched only -y the unpleasantness of trying out the alternative# this would not -e heartening news& 6s there reason to hold out hope# or shall we just throw in the cosmic towel? ;ot many people would deny that living a meaningful life is desira-le# although they might well disagree with each other a-out what it takes to make a life meaningful& .ome hold that one merely needs to -e fully engaged in life for it to -e meaningful& 5thers o-ject that a life of games shows and pork rinds is void of meaning# and that the more fully engaged in such a life# the more pathetic one+s life would -e& 5thers hold that in order for a life to have meaning it must have some purpose greater than itself# whether that purpose is saving souls# saving the environment# or saving postage stamps to -e donated to a museum& .till others hold that meaningfulness is meaningless# and talk of it should -e a-andoned in favor of what makes us happy& 2ut then happiness comes with its own "uestions# many of which are similar to those for meaningfulness& 6s happiness a matter of pleasant feelings# or of achieving a life well lived? !,ns: there are philosophers on -oth sides of this one&% How does one judge what will make one happy? !,ns: not very well# psychologists find&% he purpose of this project will -e to help students develop the self/reflective tools necessary to -egin defining what happiness and meaning means to them& We will achieve this goal through a vigorous study of short fiction# contemporary media# social science# ed alks and class discussions& =ltimately# each student will craft and share a coherent stand on happiness and meaning# there-y standing with 2ierce and Parker or jumping !joyfully?% away&

!ossible Topics to E$plore

>xistentialism ?egacy !can leaving a legacy enhance the meaning of your own life?% Happiness .uccess ,lienation# 6solation and .ocial Media >mpathy

%ssess&ents ' (eadlines

1

his project description has -een gratefully -orrowed and slightly modified from the following source !much o-liged Professor a-er%: a-er# Michael& @.eminar Description for Happiness A Meaning&@ .t& MaryBs 'ollege of Maryland# n&d& We-& CD Ean& FGCD&

Humanities 11 2014 Carruth he following four assignments will comprise your grade for this project& 6 will add all four of these together with their respective weighting and enter one grade at the end of He-ruary& he project will -e worth FGG points& Eournal: FGI&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Due Monday# He-ruary FD th .eminar Prep J .eminar: 0GI&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Due Wednesday# He-ruary CK th ?iterary ,nalysis >ssay: DGI&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Due Wednesday# He-ruary FL th Personal Philosophy Project draft: CGI&&&&&&&&&&Due Hriday# He-ruary FM th E$a&ple Eournal: CGG I x &F N FG .eminar: MGI x &0 N FD MG x& 0 N FD ?iterary ,nalysis >ssay: M1 I x &D N 0D Personal Philosophy Project Draft: KGI x &CN K otal Project :rade: MO)CGG x FN COD)FGG !MOI%

%ssign&ent (escriptions
)ournal* <ou will keep an 3inspiration journal4 that you will carry over for our >nergy and Place project in the spring& his will -e a place for you to document starters and other writing prompts# which may include responses to the assigned readings# thought/provoking "uotes# self/reflections and other musings related to our study of happiness and meaning& Se&inar* 6n preparation for writing your literary analysis essay# we will seminar on all of the readings in the unit& his will -e an opportunity to showcase your comprehension and insights regarding the readings and synthesi$e the various readings as you and your classmates help each other compare the various ideas proposed -y our authors& Literary %nalysis Essay* 'hoose a perspective from one or two of the readings we have read that resonates with or challenges your own definition of happiness)meaning and analy$e how that perspective is expressed in the piece!s% of literature you chose& !ersonal !hilosophy !roject (raft and !roposal* Develop a draft of your philosophy on what living a life of meaning and happiness means to you and a proposal for how you+ll eventually represent this philosophy& 6 will provide you with "uestions and an outline template to help you think through your perspective on the topics we studied# including existentialism# what your purpose is# what success means to you# whether is it important to leave a legacy# whether or not you feel an element of alienation and isolation and to what extent social media makes you feel connected to others# etc( he goal here is to -egin creating a concrete personal philosophy after our philosophical class discussions& 6n our >nergy and Place project this spring# you will have time to fine tune this draft into a final product for our exhi-ition in which you will deliver a reading or creative presentation of your personal philosophy alongside the .ense of Place essay you will write in May& 2efore ?6;P you will merely outline a draft and write a proposal for how you plan to represent your philosophyQit may take the form of a song# poem# speech# painting# video or some other creative medium you think of&