Paper 3: Instructions
Analysis of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor using Jonathan Haidt’s assertions in The Happiness Hypothesis and your definition of happiness.
There are a few questions to consider as you write this paper:
What elements from Haidt are at work in the documentary?
What elements from your definition of happiness are at work in the documentary?
What does the popularity of Mr. Rogers reveal to the viewer about happiness?
What do you take away from the documentary about happiness?
(There may be other aspects to the documentary you would like to explore.)
This cannot be an opinion piece. You must use the texts to support your assertions. Think of this paper as a hybrid of papers 1 and 2.
One approach to drafting this paper is to start with the relationship between Haidt’s assertions and the people and events in Won’t You Be My Neighbor. Once you establish this, bring in your definition of happiness and how it does or does not apply to the documentary. The documentary is your “sample” or “field work” to explore the elements of happiness (and suffering). Also, depending on your reaction to the documentary, you may want to consider limitations.
This paper is a chance for you to work with texts and assert your ideas. You will analyze and synthesize the ideas presented in Won’t You Be My Neighbor, The Happiness Hypothesis, and your definition of happiness.
You may use either a personal tone or academic tone.
Reminders:
Papers should be 3-4 pages typed, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman or similar font with one-inch margins. Name, course name and number, due date, and my name should appear in the top left corner of the first page.