“Not for school but for life we learn.” This quote from Seneca is my high school’s motto, and I use it in the first lecture for most of my classes. I’m a firm believer that academic research can and should be useful to all of us in our day-to-day lives. My favorite classes are ones chock full of fodder for cocktail party conversation: cool ideas and new perspectives; fun facts and counter-intuitive approaches; and knowledge that will hopefully germinate into food for thought for years to come.
At UW–Madison, I teach classes on what it means to live “the good life,” especially through the lens of choices about money, relationships, and personal improvement.
Stop by to chat about how my latest book, The Big Picture: A Guide to Finding Your Purpose in Life, may help you frame that important question of what’s next in college and beyond. Watch my TEDx talk, “Authentic Purpose: A Roadmap,” for a further amplification of that thinking. Or visit me online at christinewhelan.com to learn more.
Featured Media
- Channel 3000, Starting 2021 with a purpose
- Today, Will the COVID-19 pandemic result in a baby boom? Experts weigh in
- Psych Congress Network, Finding purpose during a pandemic
- WTMJ, ‘Know that you are not alone’: keeping mental health during safer-at-home coronavirus situation
- WORT, Can we buy happiness?
Department
- Consumer Science
Affiliations
Education
- MA and PhD, Economics and Social History, University of Oxford
- BA, Politics, Princeton University
Contact
Office: 4220 Nancy Nicholas Hall
Phone: 608-262-7794
Email: christine.whelan@wisc.edu
Websites:
Social media: