Questioning PassionRoot Lecture: Barbara FredricksonBarbara Fredrickson, the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and director of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab (PEPLab) at UNC, will give the inaugural lecture in the Questioning Passion interdisciplinary seminar series at Washington and Lee University. This series will run through the 2015-2016 academic year. The title of Fredrickson's lecture, which is free and open to the public, is “On Passions, Positivity and Love.”Her talk is also sponsored by the Root Lecture Fund which was established by Robert W. Root (W&L '42) in 1991 to support guest speakers selected by the Departments of Philosophy, Psychology and Religion.Fredrickson is best known for her broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, which suggests that positive emotions lead to novel, expansive or exploratory behavior, and that, over time, these actions build knowledge, social relationships and physical health. Her scientific contributions have influenced scholars, readers and the business community worldwide, in disciplines ranging from finance to healthcare.Fredrickson's latest book, “Love.2,” provides a new way of thinking about love in addition to romantic or passionate love but also focusing more on momentary interactions and ordinary, everyday experiences that generate love.