Come January 2014, students of Presidency University, Kolkata, will be given an opportunity to study "love" as a subject, with the paper carrying 50 marks. The unique interdisciplinary course on love would be offered by the varsity's sociology department and would be available to students of all streams as an optional paper.
Interestingly, one of the chapters would be on the depiction of love in Bollywood movies, where it is always a staple theme. Classics of Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt to Yash Chopra's blockbusters would find a place in it. The curriculum is being designed in a way that it includes all aspects of love, sociological implications in particular, according to the university's Vice-Chancellor Malabika Sarkar. “The classes for the course would delve into serious aspects like conflict between rationalism and emotion, subjectivity and objectivity, romance and utility. The course will also focus on the sociological and economic implications of love,” she adds.
Suchismita Ray Paul, Associate Professor, Sociology Department of Jogmaya Devi College says, "Such courses are necessary to familiarize the students with changes in the notion of love that have taken place in the country. In traditional Indian culture, the approach to the idea of love was not so extrovert like it has become these days."
Of all the courses offered by the different departments, the Sociology Department’s course on love has created a lot of buzz among students and teachers alike.
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