Course Syllabus

SYLLABUS

Course Title Placeholder

Semester & Location:	Summer 2027, Copenhagen
Type & Credits:	Session 1, 3 credits
Faculty:	Deivida Vandzinskate
Time:	TBA
Classroom:	TBA
Major Disciplines:	Sociology, Anthropology, Gender Studies
Related Disciplines:
Program Contact:	EPSsupport@dis.dk

Course Description

What is love? Is romantic love universal, or do cultures teach us whom to love, how to love, and what love is supposed to feel like?

This course explores love as an emotion, cultural practice, social institution, embodied experience, and powerful cultural ideal. Through an interdisciplinary lens we will be examining how cultures shape and express love in diverse forms — from romantic and self love to collective and digital forms of affection.

Students will engage with themes such as love and media, self love and wellbeing, perceived and performed intimacy and passion, new modes of connection and dating (e.g. situationships), and the creative making of love through art and music. We will also look at what role social scripts of disconnecting (e.g. ghosting or slow fading) and negative feelings like shame, guilt and fear of rejection or failure play in how we connect with others and ourselves. Learning activities blend research and embodied experience: analyzing ethnographic studies, exploring depictions of love in media (films, podcasts, SoMe), visiting museums and art galleries, music and songwriting, exploring mindfulness and movement practices like yoga and dance, and producing creative projects that reflect personal and cultural insights into love. Everyone taking this course will have a chance to find their own ways of exploring love!

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• understand love and intimacy from an anthropological perspective;
• recognize cultural variation in ideas about romance, relationships, sexuality, and commitment;
• examine intimate relationships through the lens of intersectionality;
• critically analyze representations of love in social media, film, music, art, and popular culture;
• explore contemporary transformations of dating and intimacy;
• connect anthropological concepts with everyday experiences and observations;
• reflect critically on dominant cultural narratives about what a “successful” relationship should look like;
• communicate anthropological insights creatively through visual, embodied, ethnographic, and collaborative work.

Faculty

Deivida Vandzinskaite, DIS Copenhagen Semester Faculty
Ph.D. (Education, Siauliai University, Lithuania, 2011), focus on the cross-cultural use of service learning in higher education. M.A. (Social Anthropology and Sociology, Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania, 2006). Lecturer and Senior Research Scholar, Siauliai University, 2007-2013. Visiting scholar at the Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, 2008-2012. Research experience on the national and international level covering topics related to cultural diversity and cross-cultural issues, gender and family studies, global diffusion of educational models, and voluntary participation in Europe. With DIS since 2013.

Readings

• Kowal M, et al., (2024). Love as a Commitment Device  : Evidence from a Cross-Cultural Study across 90 Countries. Hum Nat.; 35(4):430-450.
• Langlais, M., Davidson, F. (2026) Can I Trust You Without Committing to You?: Examining Situationships Status, Multimodal Communication, and Trust. Sexuality & Culture.

• William Jankowiak (ed.) (2008) Intimacies: Love and Sex Across Cultures.

• Jankowiak, W., Gerth, H., (2012) Can You Love More Than One Person at the Same Time? A Research Report, Anthropologica, Vol. 54, No. 1, pp. 95-105

• Pritzker, Sonya E., Jason A. DeCaro, Baili Gall, Lawrence T. Monocello, and Joshua R. Pederson. 2024. Embodying intimacy in everyday interaction: A biolinguistic study of long-term partners in the southeastern United States. Ethos 52: 89–113

• Šiša, A. (2022). Ghosting as a technologically assisted exit strategy on mobile dating apps. Anthropological Notebooks., Vol. 28, Issue 2, pp. 1-22 

• Jennifer Hirsch & Holly Wardlow (eds.) (2006). Modern Loves: The Anthropology of Romantic Courtship and Companionate Marriage. 

• Vigl, J., Bamford, J. S., Fleckenstein, A., & Saarikallio, S. (2025). Music across the love-span: a mixed methods study into the use of music in romantic relationships (version 2). Open Research Europe, 4:275. 

• Whitty, M. T. (2007). Love letters: The development of romantic relationships throughout the ages. In A. N. Joinson, K. Y. A. McKenna, T. Postmes, & U.-D. Reips (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Internet Psychology (pp. 39–54). Oxford University Press. 

Field Studies

The Anthropology of Love course includes two field studies designed to take learning beyond the classroom. Rather than only reading and talking about love, students are invited to explore how connection, intimacy, vulnerability, care, attraction, trust, and belonging are felt, embodied, performed, and socially constructed.

The field studies combine hands-on participation, ethnographic observation, informal conversations, sensory experiences, and personal reflection.

Students are encouraged to approach the experiences with curiosity rather than looking for a single definition of love. They will consider questions such as:

• What does connection feel like?
• How do people communicate intimacy without words?
• What makes us feel comfortable or uncomfortable around others?
• How do social and cultural norms shape expressions of affection?
• What roles do the body, touch, movement, space, music, food, and atmosphere play in creating intimacy?
• Where are the boundaries between private and public expressions of love?
• How do vulnerability, trust, embarrassment, pleasure, awkwardness, and rejection influence human connection?

Approach to Teaching

This course will be taught through a combination of lectures, group work, field studies, guest lecturers, and movies. Throughout, there will be a strong emphasis on participation and class discussion. Overall, the aim is to create a classroom space characterized by respect and willingness to listen/consider others’ perspectives, where it is safe to explore ideas together and individually.

SAFE SPACE

Please note that the class is discussion-based and it is very important we all contribute to creating and maintaining a safe space throughout the semester. You and your peers come from a variety of backgrounds, adding valuable perspectives to our discussions – be open, curious, and respectful during your own and other’s learning processes. Remember to challenge ideas, not people.  

Evaluation

**To be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all of the assigned work**

Grading