Course note
This course will begin running in fall 2026.
About this course
The goal of this course is to better understand how biological evolution can help us appreciate what we do and don’t find satisfying in life. How do our human origins play a role in our contemporary well-being? How have our genes and biology been shaped to find certain experiences rewarding and others less so? What patterns of thought and behavior can we undertake that harness these predispositions? This course will start with a primer in evolutionary psychology, transition to discuss the resulting underlying neuroscience of our moods and behaviors, and then apply this field to the topic of human flourishing. This approach will help us better appreciate the roots of pleasure, play, and sex and why nature, social connections, altruism, and accomplishment, have such a positive impact on our well-being. The course will end with an evaluation of modernity and its benefits and costs for human happiness.
Syllabus
Fall 2026 (Draft)
Go to syllabusThis is a draft syllabus. The final syllabus will be available here a few days prior to the new course’s first start date.
Pre-requisites
A psychology course at university level.
Faculty
Matthew Kimble
Visiting FacultyMatthew Kimble is a Professor of Psychology at Middlebury College where he teaches courses in Introductory Psychology, Psychological Disorders, Psychological Trauma, Research Methods, Resilience, and Happiness. He is currently Faculty Director of Middlebury College’s Alumni College and Chair of Middlebury’s Institutional Review Board. He received his undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College in 1991 and his doctorate in clinical psychology from Boston University in 1996. He completed his postdoctoral training in psychological trauma at the National Center for PTSD at the Boston VA Healthcare Network. His primary research interests focus on how trauma and PTSD effects attentional processes and expectancies in trauma survivors. Recent work has included work on the impact of trigger warnings on student emotional responses as well as the role of authenticity in subjective well being. Professor Kimble is a licensed clinical psychologist, an author or coauthor on over 30 peer reviewed articles and has received grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Veterans Administration, the Davis Collaborative on Conflict Transformation, and the Vermont Genetics Network to support his work. Visiting Faculty with DIS in Fall 2026.