Debating Valentine’s Day, a la 18th and 19th Century European Thinkers

Debating Valentine’s Day, a la 18th and 19th Century European Thinkers

February is about to come to a close and with it passes the mass-marketed holiday of Valentine’s Day. It seems at points that little thought is given to the historical origins of the day, and instead we are bombarded by advertisements for greeting cards, flowers, candies, stuffed animals and all things pink and red.

Working in high schools on Valentine’s Day can be both exhilarating and frustrating. Classes are stopped so that roses can be delivered and serenades sung to unsuspecting students. There is lots of energy and excitement about the day, as both friends and romantic interests reach out to their chosen interests. As a teacher, I appreciate the laughter and joy that such measures bring to some students - but also lament the constant interruptions to classes and, more importantly, the feelings of those students left out in the Valentine exchanges.

This is not meant as a plea to study the history of Valentine’s Day, although of course the background matters. Nor is it an argument to oust the celebration of the day from schools - there is too much enthusiasm for the romantic potential that Valentine’s Day brings. Rather, I want to put forward an alternative vehicle for studying the day that is intellectually stimulating and pushes students to consider their own actions on and around February 14th.

About five years ago, I tried out an activity that tasked my students with analyzing Valentine’s Day through the lens of political theorists under our study. We had read a number of primary sources written by thinkers such as Samuel Smiles, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Friedrich Engles, Thomas Malthus and John Stuart Mill. In the week before February 14th, we broke down the sources according to the 3-2-1-* model I have discussed before - the students needed to find 3 interesting points, 2 important quotes, one thesis and one (*) significance of the source overall. We then compared and contrasted the sources according to what they students pulled from the documents.

Next came the application of the thinkers and their arguments to the contemporary world. Valentine’s Day seemed like a perfect subject for study. I first asked the students what came to mind when February 14th came around and we made a list on the board of their brainstorm (think “cutesy bears” and “my dad giving my mom flowers” and “chocolates with gross juicy centers”, to name a few). After the brainstorm, I asked them to journal about their individual feelings regarding the holiday, with the guiding question being, “Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day and why/why not?” They journaled for 15 minutes and then came back to the group to discuss.

After a brief discussion of their personal views and celebrations of Valentine’s Day, we turned to what our collection of European political theorists might think of the day. I introduced the idea of whether or not Valentine’s Day in America could be looked at as a celebration of capitalism. Yes, this is a leading question - but the ability to critique the holiday through the eyes of centuries-old thinkers is a hard one. I pushed them to consider the writings of Marx/Engels and Smith most carefully, and how one might apply ideas of capitalism and socialism to modern practices in the US.

I split the class in half and explained that we would hold a debate the next day, with the question guiding the discussion as follows: Should the celebration of Valentine’s Day in contemporary America be upheld or rejected? Why or why not, according to your assigned thinker? Half of the class worked to explain how Smith might find value in Valentine’s Day and its contribution to economic development, while the other half took on Marx and looked to find the faults of the February holiday as it connected to class relations and labor. The students had the rest of the class to work with their groups and prepare: opening statements, major points, evidence in the form of quotes from the documents and weaknesses in their own arguments. Their homework that night was to finish preparing.

We held the debate the next day, opening class with statements from both sides and then moving quickly into open discussion. The students took to the activity and passionately defended the views of their thinkers as well as how they perceived their thinker to attack or defend Valentine’s Day. After 40 minutes of debate, I asked the students to spend 20 minutes writing about their understanding of the question and the thinker to which they were assigned. Their homework that night was to complete their in-class writing, turning it into a 1.5-2 page (typed and double-spaced) composition that they would submit the following day.

The students really enjoyed this assignment because it seemed real and relevant. They did not study 18th and 19th century political theorists in isolation, but instead learned about how and why the ideas of these thinkers still matter and can be used to understand the lives of the students. Holding a debate on the subject meant that the students learned about research, critical analysis, marshaling evidence and constructing oral arguments. The follow-up writing assignment pushed them to hone their arguments and work on writing, as well as invited the more reserved students to share their views.

In the end, the week-long activity ensured that my students would think about Valentine’s Day a little bit differently when it rolled around again.