HNUH278I

Society has become more and more disconnected, with 61% of American reporting being lonely. The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on the Healing Effects of Social Connection and Community reports that "The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity." Disconnection is devastating for health and for society. Particularly in a democracy predicated on the health of civic life, which requires interpersonal and community relationships, where does this predicament leave us as a society? This course illuminates the potential root causes of disconnection: early familial relationships, attachment styles, and broader technological trends. Students will leave the course with a toolkit of evidence-based strategies they can use - and share - to help heal these divides and repair our core social connections.