Romance: Cross-Culture Perspective

Full Course Title:

Romance in Cross-Culture Perspective

Romantic love is one of the most intense of all human experiences. But do people everywhere feel it, even in societies with arranged marriage? What is the role of love in such societies, in those places where the emotions of friendship and family are valued more than love and marriage? This course will address these, and other, fascinating questions. Students will learn how to analyze views of love in different cultures by examination of personal ads, children's literature and movies (e.g. Disney films), soap operas, popular songs, and many other forms of popular culture. This course aims to give students a tour of the world through the perspective of the varied ways that people feel about, think about, and experience, love.

NOTE: This course is offered 100% online with required meeting times via Zoom as stated.

Course Details

Prefix:

UCO

Course Number:

1200

Section Number(s) and Day/Times Taught:

108: MW 3:30pm - 4:45pm - online

112: MW 5:00pm - 6:15pm - online

Term:

Spring 2025

Categories:

Global Issues

Instructor(s)

Martin Schoenhals

Martin Schoenhals is a cultural anthropologist who has conducted fieldwork for more than three decades in China, and for nearly two decades in India. Among his interests are the way that culture and emotions interact. As a psychological anthropologist, Schoenhals has studied the role of face and shame in China, and how these emotions interact with political and historical processes. Another research interest is facial expressions and the key question of whether humans can read each other's emotions across the divisions of culture. Schoenhals has taught at such universities as Columbia University, Swarthmore College, and the University of Pennsylvania. He has recently moved from New York City and has made his new home in the mountains of Boone.

University College

Romance: Cross-Culture Perspective