Integration Symposium 2022: The Science and Spirit of Gratefulness

185 North Oakland Avenue,Pasadena CA 91101

16 February, 2022

Description

"The Science and Spirit of Gratefulness: 25 Years of Progress" with Dr. Robert Emmons Join us for the School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy 2022 Integration Symposium featuring one of the premier psychologists of religion, Robert Emmons. Dr. Emmons is professor emeritus of psychology at University of California, Davis. SCHEDULE: Wednesday, February 16 10:00 am–12:00 pm (PT) Lecture #1: The Story of Gratitude: From an Ancient Religious Practice to a Modern Global Movement Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate Gratitude is one of the more durable features of human existence. More than two decades of scientific research have verified more than 2,000 years of wisdom teachings on gratitude as one of the deepest touchpoints of human existence. Gratitude felt and expressed produces a positive ripple effect through every area of our lives, potentially satisfying some of our deepest yearnings—our desire for happiness, our pursuit of better relationships, our ability to make meaning out of suffering, and our ceaseless quest for inner peace, health, wholeness, and contentment. Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to state two to three of the latest research benefits of gratitude in the domains of mental and physical health. Participants will be able to identify three mechanisms linking grateful thinking and grateful emotions with improved mental, physical, and relational outcomes. Participants will be able to implement two to three concrete gratitude exercises in their personal life and with clients.Respondent: Amos Yong, Dean of the School of Mission and Theology, and Professor of Theology and Mission Thursday, February 17 10:00 am–12:00 pm (PT) Lecture #2: You Are What You Thank: Gratitude to God and the Shaping of Identity Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate Gratitude and its practices are ways of orienting and anchoring individuals amidst a complicated world and among their fellow humans. This way of being encircles much of what we do and who we are, providing meaning and significance to ourselves and ultimately to life itself. Scientific work on gratitude, has, for the most part, only imperfectly captures the far more ancient traditions of religious and philosophical inquiry, and often misses their most important insights. Examples from recent theology-infused research programs on gratitude to God illustrate how serious attention to these traditions can significantly enrich recent advances in the science and practice of gratitude. Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to name two differences between gratitude between persons and gratitude to God and the connection of each to personal identity. Participants will be able to identify why recent research on gratitude to God matters in the context of both suffering and flourishing. Participants will be able to name two to three functions of public expressions of gratitude to God.Respondent: Pamela Ebstyne King, Peter L. Benson Associate Professor of Applied Developmental Science and PhD Psychological Science Program Chair, School of Psychology & Marriage and Family Therapy, and Executive Director of the Thrive Center for Human Development Friday, February 18 10:00 am–12:00 pm (PT) Lecture #3: Engaging Gratitude and Humanity’s Moral Faculties in the Face of Climate Change and Other Global Crises Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate While many people recognize that climate change is an important issue, it remains difficult to convince people and nations to treat it as an urgent problem. Increasingly, social science indicates that adjusting how we talk about climate change––particularly how we incorporate gratitude into our discussions of the planet and our lives––matters. Harnessing people’s capacity for gratitude may be key to fighting climate change and to attaining true human flourishing. Gratitude can potently drive environmental conservation, the reduced consumption of resources, and other forms of environmentally responsible action. Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to name the main reason why the human capacity for environmental gratitude supports humanity’s innate systems of moral judgment and is key to fighting climate change. Participants will be able to name two to three ways the latest social science research links gratitude and other moral affects to environmentally responsible choices and behaviors. Participants will be able to state two to three ways to cultivate gratitude as an action at the core of the struggle against climate change.Respondent: Wilmer G. Villacorta, Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies The symposium is free and open to the public; registration is required. A total of six units of continuing education (CE) credit will be available. (Each two-hour session is worth two units.) CE credits are offered at $10 per unit for Fuller alumni and $15 per unit for the general public. Questions regarding continuing education credits can be sent to [email protected]. For additional details, please visit www.fuller.edu/symposium. Fuller Seminary is an evangelical, multidenominational graduate institution committed to forming global leaders for kingdom vocations. Responding to changes in the church and world, Fuller is transforming the seminary experience for both traditional students and those beyond the classroom: providing theological formation that helps Christ followers serve as faithful, courageous, innovative, collaborative, and fruitful leaders in all of life, in any setting.