PSYCH 6030 - [Inequality, Power and Happiness]

Fall. Next Offered: 2019-2020. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

Enrollment limited to: 15 students. Co-meets with PSYCH 4030.

S. Edelman.

Our present understanding of how the mind works and how minds evolve suggests that the pursuit of happiness is a basic human right: our capacity for emotional well-being and our ability to appreciate life as a whole are both rooted deep in the human nature. The human potential for happiness cannot, however, be realized if circumstances oppose it. In particular, widespread chronic financial hardship and insecurity and the inequality in power and wealth distribution are both detrimental to happiness. In this seminar, we shall read and discuss a selection of academic papers that examine the cognitive, social, and political psychology of the American polity, with a particular stress on understanding the dynamics of socioeconomic inequality and on identifying possible ways, if any, of bringing about change to the better.