ANTH 269
Mindfulness Examined: Meditation, Emotion, and Affective Neuroscience Fall 2020
Division II Writing Skills Difference, Power, and Equity
Cross-listed REL 269 / ASST 269 / STS 269
This is not the current course catalog

This course offers a social analysis and condensed genealogy of mindfulness from its roots as a Buddhist meditation practice through its modern application as a tool to improve our awareness of the related processes of mind, behavior, and emotions. We consider how mindfulness relates to Buddhist discourses and practices, and to the rapid rise of fields like contemplative neuroscience, affective neuroscience, and integrative neurobiology. How and why has the research on mindfulness and other applied meditative practices exploded since 2000? How has this research helped us understand and explain the intersection of mind, emotion, behavior, and human development? We critically examine the models of the mind developed by clinical and evolutionary psychologists and researchers in fields such as affective neuroscience to better understand the applications of mindfulness in the US today. Specifically, we consider how mindfulness and other forms of meditation are being used to improve the training of health care providers and educators, while augmenting and deepening the quality of their engagement with patients, students, and others they serve. We examine and train in a variety of meditation practices including mindfulness and forest bathing, while unpacking the subjective experience of our minds and emotions first-hand. Students will be asked to engage in mindfulness practices the entire semester.