FSEM 100G7 | Thriving in College: The Science of Positive Psychology

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This course focus on using the science of positive psychology to gain skills to help you thrive in college and ultimately in life. We will use the book “U Thrive,” which was written to help students apply positive psychology to their college experience. Throughout the semester you will find articles that focus on skills such as gratitude, cultivating strengths, developing a growth mindset, mindfulness, healthy eating, sleeping and exercise, and challenging negative thoughts.

You will read and summarize research articles on these topics and then apply the skills to your own life. You will also gain a better understanding of the scientific research process and learn how to analyze a research article for its strengths and limitations. There will also be a lot of opportunity to practice writing and speaking and get feedback so you can improve in these skills.

Since getting involved in college of life has been shown to help students thrive in college you will also be asked to get involved in college life throughout the semester and document your involvement (you will end the semester with a scrapbook of the fun you had during your first semester!). The format of the course will be a mix of discussions and presentations and will culminate in using the articles you have found to write a research paper about the interventions that were done throughout the semester.

 

 

 

Photo of Miriam Liss, Professor of Psychology

Miriam Liss, Professor of Psychology

I am a Professor of Psychological Science and have worked at UMW since 2001. I grew up in NYC and went to college at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. After graduation, I worked in Boston for a year, and then I went to graduate school and got a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Connecticut. My research interests are wide-ranging. I have published papers on body image and objectification, parenting styles, division of household labor, work-family balance, and what it means to label oneself as a feminist. I have also published many papers about aspects of positive psychology including on the benefits of self-compassion, acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness. I have written two books - one was a book on work-family balance and happiness called Balancing The Big Stuff: Finding Happiness in Work, Family, and Life. The second is a textbook called Psychology of Women and Gender. My husband is a guidance counselor at Chancellor High School. We have two teenage kids who are into school and community theater. I also love singing and theater and can be found singing in local choirs and even sometimes performing in local community theater plays. I look forward to getting to know you this semester!

Photo of Rita Dunston, Registrar

Rita Dunston, Registrar

I am the University Registrar and have worked at UMW for over 15 years. I earned a B.S. degree in Business from Norfolk State University, M.S. in Adult Education from Old Dominion University, and Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University. As a first-generation student, navigating the academic system was overwhelming and complex. I am committed to helping students overcome challenges they face, learn to self-navigate, and develop deeper insight into what constitutes happiness and living meaningful and fulfilling lives during college years and beyond. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, playing board games, and spending time with family.

Photo of Kalpesh Bhatt, Assistant Professor of Religion

Kalpesh Bhatt, Assistant Professor of Religion

Kalpesh Bhatt is an assistant professor of Asian religions at the University of Mary Washington. Synthesizing the fields of textual studies and anthropology of religion, his works examine how modern receptions of premodern sacred Hindu texts and rituals shape, and are shaped by, secular conditions, everyday concerns, and the ethical subjectivation of their practitioners. His recent study explores theoretical and practical challenges that everyday ethical reflections and actions of religious people pose to secular liberal understandings of agency and autonomy. Kalpesh’s earlier projects similarly interrogated the secular-religious binary, religious differences, racial and communal tensions through Hindu festivals such as the Maha Kumbh Mela and the construction of a diasporic Hindu temple in the USA. His research and teaching interests include lived Asian religions, religious and cultural pluralism, and Hindu-Christian studies, with a concurrent goal of enhancing public understanding of religion through the collaboration of academic and non-academic groups, and disseminating scholarly findings among laypersons by employing methods of visual anthropology. Before completing PhD in Anthropology of Religion with a focus on South Asian religions from the University of Toronto and the Master of Theological Studies (MTS) from Harvard University, Kalpesh did Masters in Physics and Bachelors in Computer Science from BITS Pilani, India. His interests in religion, science, and art have led him to direct several films, including an IMAX film on India, and state-of-the-art multimedia shows, including a grand watershow based on an ancient story of a child hero from the Upaniṣads, highlighting the dynamics between religion and technology, tradition and modernity.

Photo of Dan Hubbard, Associate Professor of Historic Preservation

Dan Hubbard, Associate Professor of Historic Preservation

I’ve enjoyed many careers, including patent examiner, technical translator, government “contractor” and auditor, and finally teaching at Mary Washington, where I’ve been since 1999. I am particularly interested in expanding the realm of auditing beyond its traditional base in accounting. Passionately dedicated to freedom and the right of self-determination, I am currently advising both the separatists of Québec and Catalunya, where I hope to retire once the Republic for which my grandfather died has been re-established.

Image Credit: Happiness by CreativeMagic [Pixabay user], cc01.0.