Concurrent Sessions

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CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Wednesday, September 11 - locations TBA
Sessions are offered twice


Morning Sessions - 10:30 a.m., repeated at 11:45 a.m.


Mindfulness Practice as a Tool for Cultivating Happiness in Self and Others
Michelle Lelwica, Religion Department

The practice of mindfulness, or learning to stay present to what's happening within oneself in a compassionate, non-judgemental manner, awakens a sense of personal and social responsibility that can motivate one to live in ways that support happiness. This session will introduce participants to mindfulness as a practice.

Happiness and Biblical Joy: There's a Difference?
Holly Brettingen, Student

This session will equip people to use analysis of the Bible to find their so-called "happy place" through faith, even in the midst of no-so-happy circumstances. Through exploring passages about joy in the Bible and examining common ideas about pursuing happiness that are perpetuated in current society, participants will understand how Christian faith can translate to aspects of their lives that are often compartmentalized separately from faith.

A Kibble for  Your Thoughts...On Dog Happiness and Human Happiness
Stewart Herman, Religion Department

This conversational session will explore the happiness found in the relationships between dogs and humans - how dogs make us happy, and how we make our pets happy. Bring your own stories of what makes for such mutual happiness.

Growing from Grief: How We Rebuild Happiness
Courtney Backen, Counseling Center

As all people experience loss in one way or another, this session will address not only what grief is, but the ways in which we can grow from grief to rebuild our happiness. Grief is not a perpetual state of being, it is something that can help us grow and lead us toward living the good life.

Mapping Happiness
D. Bryan Bishop, Environmental Studies and Biology Department

This session will examine under what conditions - environmental, economic, urban/rural, et. - happy people live. This session will examine maps of happiness and teach participants how to create their own maps.

Understanding Happiness from an International Lens
Sonja Paulson, Intercultural Affairs

Hear a panel of international students offer insight into how happiness is understood in their home countries. Students will share characteristics that have been lost in their transition to the U.S. and discuss values that are deeply instilled regardless of geography.

Sorry, I'm Not Sorry: Exploring ChoiceTheory and How it can Improve Quality of Life
Megan Orcholski, CSTA Department

This session explores the "No Apology Living" or Choice Theory. This theory promotes consciousness of one's behavior and choices, making the individual constantly aware of what they control and what is beyond their control. Becoming conscious and aware of ones choices is incredibly powerful in the relationship to happiness. Through personal stories and examples these theories will be presented as a tool that each person coming to the session would be able to gain knowledge of and use in their futures.

Marketing Happiness
Regan Whitney, Student

Marketing is designed to persuade customers to take a specific action that will meet their needs, ultimately making them happier. Product brands can do this a number of ways including amusing us, making us feel special, or developing a long-term relationship with us.  Eventually a product may even feel like a "friend" to us. This session will explore this idea of happiness and friendship with a brand.

Smiling in the Face of Oppression: Discovering Happiness Despite Systemic Prejudice
Collin Sullivan and Quinn Maroney, Students

Happiness is found in the most unlikely of circumstances. Focusing on three major discriminates - race, sexual orientation and gender - we will establish how happiness is achieved despite institutional, societal and personal injustice. Check your privilege at the door and experience happiness through an oppressed lens.

Is There a Set Point of Happiness?
Mark Chekola, MSUM/Research Associate World Database of Happiness, Erasmus University Netherlands

Some claim that there is a set point of equilibrium of happiness to which we return after increases or decreases in happiness. If this is true what implications does it have for how we think of the happiness of our lives? Are there reasons to doubt its truth?


Afternoon Sessions - 2:30 p.m., repeated at 3:45 p.m. 



"Joy: Longing for Longing" - Happiness and Joy in the Life and Works of CS Lewis
Roy Hammerling, Religion Department

CS Lewis develops an idea that the good life can be understood in a distinction between what he calls joy and Joy. Small "j" joy is like finding a sign in a forest that points the way home, a place of the true capital "J" Joy. This session will help the audience see if Lewis's ideas suggest a fruitful path to the good life or not.

Dogs, Tourism and Greece: The Real Story
Alison Kessler, Cady Mittlestadt, Charlie Tirey, Dr. Peter Schultz, Santorini Animal Welfare Association

Three Concordia students who traveled to Santorini to volunteer at the SAWA animal shelter will share their experiences with the locals, humans and animals alike. The presentation will explore the differences between local and tourist culture and the implications for us as tourists and responsibly engaged citizens of the world. A group discussion will follow concerning tourism, service learning, and the role joy plays in each of these situations.

Facing Tragedy: Overcome, Adapt, or Grow
Laurie Dahley, Sociology/Social Work Department

Every life encounters challenges, sorrow, disappointment and difficulties. What assists us in overcoming, adapting, or growing through those difficult experiences? Why does one individual grow through tragedy while another is crushed? In this session, case examples will be shared and analyzed for their potential lessons. Strategies and interventions will be discussed for their potential impact on our perception of happiness and how these might serve as a means to regain happiness and our sense of peace.


Is Play Important? Can it Lead to Happiness? Or Other Things?
Sue Oatey, Student Affairs

Is play frivolous, nonsensical, thoughtless and childish? Should we care? More importantly, will understanding the science and potential of play take all the fun out of play? Research tells us that unstructured, spontaneous play is an important activity. In order to "influence the affairs of the world," faculty and staff must help students develop their imaginative, creative and innovative skills. This presentation will explore the concepts of play as a means to that goal. And...play will be practiced.

Chills: Music's Role in Fulfillment and Happiness
Daniel Anderson, Student

Why does music make us feel? For the most part, it is devoid of language or explicit ideas, and tells stories through subtlety and subtext. Recent studies show that whether performing or listening to music, knowledgeable or not, most people have some type of reaction to music, and we can now explain the why.

Exploring the Taboo Happiness: Sexual Pleasure
Jennifer Thomas, Theater and Natalie Peluso, Sociology

This session will explore sexual pleasure as the taboo happiness, and how certain expressions of sexual pleasure are deligitimated culturally in literature, film, music and theatre. We will explore how social institutions such as media, medicine, education and healthcare reinforce dominant cultural narratives about pleasure and happiness. This session will include examples of media representations, performance, lecture and discussion.

A Study of Holiday Letters, Authenticity and Happiness
Dennis Cooley and Ann Burnett, North Dakota State University/Northern Plains Ethics Institute

In this session, researchers will discuss their study about holiday letter writers, and how and whether those letters display authenticity. Holiday letters are often devoted to documenting how busy people are and their many successes. Authentic lives, the researchers argue, are happy lives, whereas unauthentic lives are not happy for all their hectic activity.

Subjective Well-being at Concordia: How Happy Are We?
Alexandra Benson, Maureen Wieland, Students

This session will explore the results of a campus-wide investigation of happiness at Concordia. Psychological research consistently demonstrates that factors such as a sense of community and spirituality play a significant role in our happiness, but do these findings apply to our campus? Our findings provide insight into the well-being of our campus community, including some surprising differences between students and employees.

Into the Wild: Natural Environments, Stress and Happiness
Mikel Olson, Psychology Department

Exposure to wilderness environments, through activities such as backpacking, canoeing, fly fishing, and mountain climbing, is often considered restorative and stress-reducing. This session will first give an overview of neurological and physiological markers of stress and happiness and present recent research which is beginning to shed light on the ways in which exposure to wilderness environments can alter our physiology, reduce stress, and increase happiness. Attendees with wilderness experience are invited to bring maps, pictures, and /or GPS coordinates of favorite trips/routes/trails to share.


Information For:

current students
faculty and staff		 parents
alumni		 high school students
admitted students