GN150 Human Flourishing: Practical Contributions of Holistic Living (3 cr.)

This course traces the history of human flourishing—holistic living—through the contributions of well-known church orders such as the Benedictines, Cistercians, Carthusians, and Trappists, among others. It studies examples of spirituality, intellectual inquiry, and scientific, architectural, and agricultural inventions and styles that were central to the holistic philosophy of life developed by church orders in the pursuit of human flourishing. Through class lectures, discussions, and visits to such sites as monasteries, medicine gardens, pharmacies, museums housing early inventions, and farms, this course highlights the idea that the pursuit of a holistic life a way of life for these early church orders was not just a way of life that they strived to perfect, but in doing so they pioneered enduring examples of human flourishing - environmental sustainability, scientific inquiry, inventiveness, and compassion, relevant even in contemporary times.

Upon completion of this course, students are expected to be able to do the following:

1. Demonstrate written skills to interpret and synthesize evidence on the concept of human flourishing.
2. Collaborate across differences through team projects, practicing respectful dialogue and constructive dissent on shared goals and outcomes
3. Critically and ethically apply and connect in writing and in oral presentations the relevance of historical examples to contemporary living.
4. Demonstrate in writing the identification and reflection of one concept/idea that differs from one’s own experience to show tolerance of another point of view