Assignment 1

Here is the Instructions,

To do this warm-up assignment, you must first read Barbara Ehrenreich’s “Power of Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness.” You only need to read pages 375 to 379, although you may read more. In this essay, Ehrenreich disputes the popular notion that happiness leads to better health. She introduces several studies that have been used as proof that happiness leads to good health, and then argues against them.

I want you to write a brief, 200-250 word informal response (about 1-page) in which you answer the research question, “Does good health lead to happiness, or happiness lead to good health—or neither?”

You should use evidence from Ehrenreich’s essay and your own personal experiences. Make sure that you explain (through paraphrasing) some specific evidence that Ehrenreich uses (or disputes). Don’t just pull a quote from Ehrenreich; I want you to choose an idea(s) from the reading, explain it for an audience that hasn’t read Ehrenreich, and respond to it.

The purpose of this exercise is to practice reading an academic text, begin thinking about happiness as a topic, practice paraphrasing, practice formulating an argument, and prove to me that you’ve done the reading.