鈥楢 beautiful experiment鈥�
Two md传媒国产剧 College faculty members traveled to Tokyo this summer to help college students explore one of life鈥檚 oldest questions: What does it mean to live a good life?
From May 18-June 16, 35 students, including 15 from BC, attended a course at Sophia University's Yotsuya campus that combined psychology, philosophy, theology, and Japanese culture to explore enduring questions about success, happiness, meaning, and purpose.聽
Titled 鈥淭he Good Life in Japan: Success, Happiness, and Purpose in East and West,鈥� the four-week course grew out of the BC professors鈥� shared interest in helping students not only consider what is a 鈥済ood life,鈥� but practice living it.
鈥淲e designed the curriculum as a formative experience rather than simply a traditional academic course,鈥� said Belle Liang, Ascione Faculty Fellow at BC's聽 Lynch Schol of Education and Human Development, who is founder and principal investigator of the 聽based at the school and co-author, with Timothy Klein, of 2022 book How to Navigate Life: The New Science of Finding Your Way in School, Career, and Beyond.
She and Kerry Cronin, an associate professor of the practice in the Philosophy Department who directs of the University's Perspectives Program鈥攁 multi-year core curriculum offering for students seeking to develop integrated answers to life鈥檚 enduring questions鈥攃o-created the Japan course as a foundational experience.
鈥淜erry tackled these questions through philosophy and theology, drawing from both Eastern and Western traditions, while I approached them through psychological science and experiential learning," Liang said. "We wanted students to integrate insights from multiple disciplines and Asian beliefs as they reflected on who they are, who they hope to become, and how they might contribute to something larger than themselves.鈥�
鈥淏ringing traditional Eastern and Western philosophical traditions into conversation with contemporary psychology and Belle's excellent work on purpose and values gave us a fruitful set of questions to trace,鈥� Cronin said.聽 鈥淲e aimed for the sort of formative educational聽experience聽that BC does best and took our cues from Ignatian practice, asking students to pay attention to their own experiences, to ask questions about the meanings of those experiences and to imagine what those might mean for who they are becoming.鈥�
Liang noted that Japanese students spoke about purpose in ways that emphasized relationships, family, responsibility, and contributing to the community, while in contrast, the BC students were more likely to focus on individual interests, passions, or career aspirations, yet she found similarities even more striking than the differences.
鈥淪tudents from both cultures wrestled with the same critical questions: What kind of person do I want to become? How do I balance my own hopes with the expectations of others? What relationships matter most? What kind of contribution do I hope to make? Students in both groups also talked about feeling pressure to achieve, perform, and make money as measures of success,鈥� said Liang. "Many found it refreshing to think about success through the alternative lens of purpose.鈥�
The cohort of 35 students from BC and Japan quickly formed a community during the four-week experience. 鈥淭his is the most transformative course I鈥檝e ever taken,鈥� one BC student said.
One BC student reflected, 鈥淏efore coming to Japan, I thought purpose was mostly about finding the right career. By the end of the course, I realized it had much more to do with the kind of person I wanted to become and the way I live every day.鈥�
鈥淭his experience made me realize that even if where we live or where grew up is different, we value similar things for a good life,鈥� said one SU participant, while another noted, 鈥淚 really enjoyed hearing different perspectives and learning how people with different cultural backgrounds can still share similar thoughts.鈥�
鈥淭his is the most transformative course I鈥檝e ever taken,鈥� said a BC student.聽 鈥淚 think a lot of my classmates would agree because it changed my assumptions about what鈥檚 most important in life.鈥�
The learning extended beyond the classroom through interactions with SU faculty and students, visits to cultural and religious sites, and encounters with Japanese ideas about craftsmanship, attention, community, and vocation.
Each BC student was paired with an SU 鈥渂uddy鈥� with whom to share lunch and explore Tokyo, deepening the exchange between the two cohorts.聽
鈥淲e wanted to experience firsthand how culture shapes our assumptions about success, happiness, and purpose while discovering the questions that seem to unite people across societies,鈥� Liang said. 鈥淥ne of the outcomes that most surprised us was the community that developed over those four weeks.聽 Students quickly moved beyond being classmates and became sincerely interested in one another's stories and invested in one another's growth."
Cronin characterized the course as a 鈥渂eautiful experiment.鈥�
鈥淪ome of our students had never traveled extensively or for such a long period of time,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t gave them a chance to wonder and wander in a culture they genuinely wanted to understand. We could tell that their questions also turned to speculating about themselves and their own communities. Accompanying students as they grew intellectually and personally in that setting was truly a gift.鈥�
Liang noted that the BC students came home with wonderful memories of Japan, but they also returned asking different questions about college, career, relationships, and the kind of lives they wished to build.
鈥淥ur聽hope was never simply that students would learn about purpose as an academic concept,鈥� she said.聽 鈥淲e wanted them to experience the kind of relationships, reflection, and cross-cultural encounters that help people discover who they are, where they belong, and how they could contribute. That鈥檚 the kind of learning we hope stays with students long after the course ends.鈥澛犅犅犅�
The program was made possible through BC鈥檚 Office of Global Education, in partnership with Sophia University and the Asia Pacific Association. According to SU, the initial collaboration will serve as a model for future joint courses, further strengthening the alliance.