Rama Watumull Collaborative Lecture Series

October 17, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Mānoa Campus, Kuykendall Hall, 410

Happiness Class: Is Happiness Teachable? “The Happiness Curriculum” was introduced by the state-run Delhi government in 2018 as a pause in the school day that would facilitate the strengthening of children’s “inner resources to cope with stress.” But for children who come from difficult socio-economic circumstances with precarious everyday lives, could this pause be enough? The curriculum seeks to build empathy across differences but as I talked to children, it became clear that for it to be truly meaningful, there was a need to focus on teachers’ perspectives as well—their ability to really know the students and their diverse contexts, and ways of bringing those lived experiences into classroom discussions. Were the teachers being supported to do all that? My film Happiness Class explores the idea of happiness seen through its inclusion within a curriculum. It uses a collage of stylistic approaches—the more conventional documentary interview, arts exercises with children to facilitate intimate conversations, and animation that acts as visual commentary—to provoke a deeper and more critical engagement with the ideas of childhood and education. In my talk, I will use excerpts from my film to talk not only about the importance of centering children’s voices but also to critique the distortions that creep into the idea of “happiness” by a social reality in which teachers remain estranged from the particular dynamics of their students’ lives. the streaming link for the film should be embedded in the poster: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/547040693 Speaker Bio: Samina Mishra is a documentary filmmaker, writer, and teacher based in New Delhi, with a special interest in media for and about children. Her work uses the lens of childhood, identity, and education to reflect the experiences of growing up in India.


Event Sponsor
English and the Center for South Asian Studies, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Nandini Chandra, 8087790875, nc8@hawaii.edu, SM2New (PDF)

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