By Jolene Tien
It was only the third day of the semester, and a lazy, hazy Wednesday morning at that. As I had no classes to doze off in, my mind was unrestricted in its imaginings, and I whiled away the hours sitting on my bed, picking through the pages of fashion magazines and staring off into space. But my mood ended in an abrupt awakening when my friend called just before the very first Sociology of Love class. “You have to come here as soon as possible,” she huffed breathlessly into the phone. “The classroom is already filled with people!” Within five minutes I’d leapt from my comfortable bed, shot across the campus, and landed smack into a chaotic classroom so jammed with eager students that I could hardly walk in without stepping on somebody’s foot. Professor Sun initiated the Sociology of Love course in 1997. “Simply put, there are two reasons that make me want to teach ‘love’,” he says. His first reason is that love is a topic that many sociologists, as well as people who study psychology, would like to study. His second reason is even more interesting. “I always wished someone could have given me some advice back when I was a college student and confused in a relationship.” In Taiwan, teachers have almost always kept silent on the subject. Now a teacher has finally broken the silence, and pioneered into the mythical realm with a fellowship of intrigued students in tow. Even though love is the subject of the course, it does not mean the teacher gives us tips like advice columns in magazines. The lectures introduce both eastern and western views on love, the love lives of ancient philosophers, and the relation between love and gender. In class we discuss love stories ranging from Chinese masterpieces to popular Japanese dramas. The Chinese classics we discuss, such as “West Chamber,” are considered in a contemporary light. Unlike scholars who study the story in a literal way, Professor Sun doubts that “West Chamber” really is a romantic love story at all. His view is that Chang, the hero, was no more than an arrogant jerk who dumped the heroine Ying-Ying once he got her into bed. He also asked us to think about how we would react if we were Ying-Ying. How would we deal with Chang when he begs for a reunion, after so much cruelty and abandonment? Professor Sun is also quick to exploit popular romances if students get bored, such as the time he parodied lines from a famous Japanese drama when students seemed to lose interest in Plato’s “Symposium.” “Japanese dramas demonstrate how to break up,” he says. “They show us how people pick themselves up after heartbreak, so that in the end they can be brave enough to watch their ex move on. It’s easy to learn from them, because they turn abstract feelings into a real scene. ” To help students focus on significant issues associated with love, Professor Sun encourages us to keep a “Love Journal,” a notebook in which we write down episodes from our own experiences of love, whatever the form. “I enjoy reading your stories,” says Professor Sun, “now you all understand why I love to teach the class. ” “But the journals mean more to you. This is an important process whereby students can explore themselves. So don’t forget to take back your journal at the end of the semester.” Professor Sun is also a talented performer. Some of his students think he looks a lot like Garfield! TVBS Magazine came to do a report on the class in October. He explained to the journalist, and to us: “People ask me if love can be taught through a course. I don’t think that taking my class means that love will be perfect and happy for you, but I do hope that it encourages students ‘actively’ to examine love as they experience it, learning how to assess and to solve problems as they arise.” a
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May 2024
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