HIST 1930 A Global History of Love (also ASIAN 1193, FGSS 1940, LGBT 1940, SHUM 1930) (HST-AS)(SCD-AS)
Tuesday and Thursday: 11:40-12:55 plus discussion
Professor Durba Ghosh
By posing seemingly simple questions such as what is love and who has the right to love, this introductory-level lecture course surveys how love has been experienced and expressed from the pre-modern period to the present. Through case studies of familial and conjugal love in Africa, Asia, the US, Europe, and South and Latin America, the course will examine the debates about and enactments of what constitutes the appropriate way to show love and affection in different cultures and historical contexts. Among the themes we will explore are questions of sexuality, marriage, kinship, and gender rights. A final unit will examine these themes through modern technologies such as the Internet, scientific advances in medicine, and a growing awareness that who and how we love is anything but simple or universal.
