Do you want to be happy? Of course, who doesn’t? But do you know how to achieve happiness? And would your parents or your children agree with your recipe?

‘Happiness across the ages’ is a collaborative, inter-disciplinary, inter-generational project co-ordinated by two academics from the University of Exeter, Dr Gabriele Galluzzo (Senior Lecturer in Ancient Philosophy) and Dr Sanja Djerasimovic (Impact Research Fellow and researcher in education). Together, the team aims to explore the validity of ancient approaches to happiness in the context of contemporary experiences, across different generations.The philsophical views on happiness were explored from three important traditions of ancient philosophical thought, the Aristotelian, the Stoic and the Epicurean, which offer three radically different recipes for happiness.

The project team consists of six U3A (University of the Third Age) members and nine students in humanities subjects (three post-graduate and six undergraduate).  Two phases of the project were envisioned. In the first phase, the participants/researchers interviewed each other, ensuring a cross-generational interviewee-interviewer experience (project co-ordinators participated in this as well and interviewed, and were interviewed by, undergraduate students). The second phase, sadly postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, would have included recruitment of further interviewees across the generational boundaries.

Within this heading, you will find copies of the various outputs which have resulted from the project as well as updates on any future events. These outputs take various forms including journal articles, magazine articles, and toolkits.

For more information on the project please contact either Gabriele Galluzzo (G.Galluzzo@exeter.ac.uk) or Sanja Djerasimovic (S.Djerasimovic@exeter.ac.uk)