"The Pursuit of Happiness" from the Declaration of Independence to 2022

A talk on the meaning of this august phrase and the role that political freedom plays in achieving it through the values that makeup American exceptionalism.

About our Scholar:

Dr. Alan Sager

University of Texas at Austin

Dr. Alan Sager has taught Government at The University of Texas at Austin for more than 30 years, currently as a Lecturer. He now teaches in the area of judicial process and behavior, election law and constitutional development, but he used to teach statistics and computer modelling as well. Dr. Sager also operates 64 Supercuts Hair Salons in three states, with 300 employees.

Dr. Sager holds  a B.S. Cum Laude from Tufts School of Engineering, a J.D. Cum Laude from Michigan Law School, and a Ph.d. in Political Science from Northwestern University. He was a Judicial Fellow at the U.S. Supreme Court in 1974-75.

He is a past President of the Austin JCC (now Shalom Austin) and of Congregation Agudas Achim in Austin. He was Travis County Texas Republican Party Chairman from 2000-2008.

About this year's theme for our programs: Happiness

We all want to be happy, but what does it mean to live a happy life and how does one get there?

This spring, the Austin Institute events will try to answer these questions. Looking at what lies at the root of any form of human flourishing, our speakers will help us navigate these issues in the broadest and yet deepest way. We will look at happiness through the eyes of philosophy, law, sociology, and literature. Hopefully, this will be an occasion to grow in happiness together,learning what it is that we should be starving for in this life.