Happiness is a Virtue: Lessons from the History of Happiness

Professor Darrin McMahon, the award-winning author of Happiness: A History, will discuss several crucial turning-points in the history of the pursuit of happiness. Ranging from deep in the Paleolithic past to our own times, the talk will cull insights from human experience in light of contemporary psychology and social science. What can the history of happiness teach us about its present, and perhaps even its future? Books available for purchase and signing.

The Westport Library is pleased to be working together with the Westport Public Schools and other community organizations to support the social and emotional development of its students and their families through the RULER Approach (an evidence-based approach for integrating social and emotional learning into schools). See further information on RULER at https://www.westportps.org/parents/ruler.

Darrin M. McMahon is the Mary Brinsmead Wheelock Professor of History at Dartmouth and the author of many books, including the award-winning Happiness: A History (Atlantic). A Guggenheim Fellow and a frequent contributor to national media outlets, he lives in Westport with his wife Courtney and their two children Julien and Madeleine.