Summer 2026 - FASS 224 D100
Arts and Social Sciences in Everyday Life (1)
Class Number: 3613
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
May 11 – Jun 12, 2026: Tue, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Luke Clossey
lclossey@sfu.ca
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Introduces ways in which FASS expertise directly informs everyday personal and social issues and challenges. Topics vary with instructor expertise. No prior knowledge of the topic is required. Suitable for students across all disciplines. Students may take this course for credit up to three times if a different topic is taught. Grading will be on a pass/fail basis.
COURSE DETAILS:
Selected Topics: Meditation in Multicultural Contexts
Across centuries and cultures, people have found tremendous practical value in just sitting quietly. Their motivations have ranged from transcending everyday reality to more truly experiencing that reality, from improved mental well-being to total liberation from suffering. This experiential course teaches you how to meditate. We will also learn the origins of meditation, its expression in multiple cultures, and its global history in the modern world. The focus will be on Buddhist meditation, its cultural contexts, and its applications for everyday life.
COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:
- Develop skills for meditating
- Find ways to incorporate a meditative practice in your own life
- Gain familiarity with a variety of meditative practices and contexts
- Understand the implications and controversies around meditation crossing cultural boundaries
You can take more than one FASS Forward 1 credit course, as long as the topic is different. See the other courses here.
Grading
- Grading is pass/fail, based on: attendance; short daily meditation (independent); journal entries and homework 100%
NOTES:
This FASS Forward course is delivered entirely in-person. It is designed to improve your skills for future success and work in this class is expected to be of high quality. A competency-based grading system will be used to assess your academic performance and active participation in all learning activities. That means only a P (pass) or F (fail) will appear on your transcript. There is no numerical equivalent for the final grade, and it does not affect either your grade point average or cumulative grade point average.
- P (pass) means that you have demonstrated your competency in relation to the learning objectives, met all the criteria for the course, and demonstrated the skills you have acquired.
- F (fail) means that you do not receive credit for the course.
Materials
REQUIRED READING NOTES:
Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.
To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit:
- SFU’s Academic Integrity Policy: S10-01 Policy
- SFU’s Academic Integrity website, which includes helpful videos and tips in plain language: Academic Integrity at SFU
RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION
Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.