Courses

Who doesn't want to be a Happy Hoosier!

In this course, we will investigate the role that nature and the heritage - the world we live in - plays in health and happiness. We will investigate human health and happiness as well as the health of nature itself. Nature, heritage, and health are widely accepted cultural values. In Indiana and beyond, humans have made significant efforts to protect natural and cultural heritage, while at the same time linking each to individual, community, and public health. Research indicates that nature and heritage are significant contributors to human happiness and well-being. In this class, we will create our own working definitions of each term and then explore the roles that nature and heritage have in enhancing individual and community health for Hoosiers. 

Our on-campus classroom will be the outdoors as well as university museums. Course work will include outdoor field studies, visits to museums and their collections, readings, group discussions, film viewings, meetings with guest professionals, and individual and group projects. Particular emphasis will be on the designation and management of nature- and heritage-related sites on campus, personal experiences at those sites, and the ways they can be utilized to promote public health and happiness.

Students will gain valuable knowledge, academic and investigative skills, field experiences, and perspectives that will aid in their university career and help to ensure that they are conscientious, studious, creative, inquisitive, and happy Hoosiers.

This course is eligible for honors credit through Hutton Honors College. 

Catalog Information: SPH-O 150  HAPPY HOOSIERS

Instructor:

Brian Edward Forist

Email:

bforist@indiana.edu

Department:

School of Public Health

Dr. Brian Forist is a Lecturer in the Department of Health & Wellness Design in the School of Public Health-Bloomington. He coordinates the program in Parks, Recreation, & the Outdoors. He has four decades of field experience in environmental education, public communication (interpretation) in parks and protected areas, and park management. Much of that experience has been with the U.S. National Park Service. As a public communicator and an IU faculty member, he approaches learning and teaching in a way that allows students (or the public) to construct their own knowledge from past experience, previous knowledge, and ongoing study and experience. He has received several awards for excellence in teaching from IU and elsewhere.

This class is not approved for the IU Bloomington General Education Program.