This course invites you to explore your own and others’ wellbeing through the lens of language and culture. By engaging with local multilingual communities in Honolulu, you will not only strengthen your academic and reflective writing skills but also cultivate empathy and communal connections while navigating through material, physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing. As you embark on this journey, remember that our ultimate goal is fostering a compassionate understanding of how we thrive together.
This course explores the intersection of language, culture, and wellbeing, focusing on how multilingual individuals navigate material, physical, emotional, cognitive, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing. Using writing as a reflective and analytical tool, students will document their moment-by-moment, daily, and long-term experiences of wellbeing.
In recent research in language sciences (Ilyin, 2024), “languaging” is seen as more than just using words and rules. Instead, it’s viewed as a holistic and ecological process—meaning it involves our entire environment, our emotions, and our physical actions. This goes beyond the old idea of language as just “communicative competence.” “languaging” sees language not as a set of fixed rules but as a dynamic process of co-creation. Each interaction—whether speaking, laughing, or gesturing—draws on our personal histories, cultural backgrounds, and the immediate situation. As people respond to each other in real time, they shape and reshape the flow of conversation, coordinating their actions in a shared moment. For Cowley (2024), languaging is something we do together, not simply a tool we use—an ongoing, dynamic process that brings meaning into being.
A key component of the course is the project-based learning pedagogy, where students will engage with multilingual communities in Honolulu, including those on the UH campus and extended virtual communities. Through research, collaboration, and community participation, students will develop a deeper sense of belonging and recognize shared experiences of linguistic and cultural isolation. The course fosters compassionate inquiry, emphasizing writing as a means of social connection and mutual support.