In the beginning of February, the University of Sioux Falls (USF) will start holding a one-credit-hour course on dating called “Finding Dates Worth Keeping.” The purpose of the course is to teach students about infatuation, relationships and breaking up.
Information on the class was published on cnn.com on Jan. 9 in an article titled “S. Dakota college offers lesson in love.” It is being taught through USF’s Learning Institute. Other topics covered by the institute are wellness, job hunting and business communication. The instructor of the course will be Laurie Chaplin, a relationship counselor and licensed therapist who has been married for 28 years.
For some ideas on the worth of this realm of study, the Independent spoke with Professor Daniel Milsky, who has in the offered a class in the past covering the philosophy of sex.
When asked on his feeling on USF’s “Finding Dates Worth Keeping,” he said, “Look, we live in a complex world where people ought to learn about and properly acknowledge their obligations towards others.
“If this course is going help educate students about the dynamics of relationships within the context of power asymmetry and help sensitize the students to issues like violence towards women, dispositional and occurrant coercion, autonomy and personal identity, then it certainly ought to be taught. But if the course is going to reinforce stereotypes and promote patriarchal constructs like chivalry, then it certainly ought to be pulled. In other words, it needs to be taught with an eye towards critical analysis.”
And does Milsky think that students could benefit from a similar course offering on our campus?
He continued, “These issues affect all students, NEIU students included. We all know women who have been victims of sexual violence or have suffered through verbally and / or physically abusive relationships. Knowledge is empowering and a course designed to make us aware of the power asymmetry rooted in culturally promoted gender roles is one small step towards confronting violence and the cycle of gender based oppression and subjugation.”
In other words, yes.