Delhi University (DU) has launched a unique and thoughtful new course designed to help students understand love, relationships, and heartbreak. Titled “Negotiating Intimate Relationships,” this elective will be available from the academic year 2025–26 and is especially relevant for the younger generation navigating today’s fast-changing dating culture.
What makes this course stand out is its use of popular films like Kabir Singh and Titanic as learning tools. For example, Kabir Singh is used to highlight unhealthy behaviors in romantic relationships—like anger, obsession, and emotional dependency—while Titanic helps students explore deeper emotions such as love, loss, and sacrifice. These real-life examples from pop culture make the course more relatable and engaging for students.
This course is being offered by the Department of Psychology and is open as a general elective for undergraduate students of all streams. It is divided into four main sections:
- Understanding Relationships: How friendships and romantic bonds are formed and what makes them work.
- Theories of Love and Sexuality: Students will learn about psychological theories such as the triangular theory of love and how love changes over time.
- Spotting Red Flags: This part focuses on how to recognize signs of toxic relationships, including emotional manipulation and controlling behavior.
- Healthy Relationship Skills: Topics like communication, trust, respect, and empathy are discussed to help students build better emotional connections.
The course doesn’t just talk about traditional relationships—it also tackles how today’s digital world impacts love and dating. Apps like Tinder, Instagram, and WhatsApp have changed how people interact emotionally. The course will help students understand how social media affects self-esteem, trust, and expectations in relationships.
Students will also learn how to manage emotions like jealousy, insecurity, and anxiety in a world where breakups can go viral and relationships can be public.
More than just theory, this course offers practical life lessons. It encourages emotional awareness, self-reflection, and open discussion—skills that are often overlooked in formal education. With rising mental health concerns and increasing emotional pressure on young people, DU’s move is seen as a progressive step toward emotional literacy.
By the end of the course, students are expected to be better prepared to handle heartbreaks, build respectful relationships, and communicate more effectively—not just in dating, but in friendships and family dynamics too.
This course is likely to appeal to many students who want to better understand love, relationships, and themselves. It reflects the changing social landscape and shows that education is evolving beyond textbooks to include lessons from real life.
