Love may be found in a sloppy dog kiss, within a bride walking down the aisle in Duke Chapel or in the soft picking of a harp. For Valentine’s Day, we asked faculty and staff for their definitions of love, whether they’ve found the answer through their research, talents or in their own relationships.What is love?
“Humans are unusual in that I think we have love between species. We love our dogs, and it might be fair to say that our dogs love us. I don’t know of too many other species on the planet where love exists between species, but it may. You can of course ask people how they feel about their dog and they can use all sorts of words to be emotive about this. It’s much harder to ask dogs how they feel about a person, so we’re kind of limited to looking at their behavior and looking at their biology, but ultimately putting those two things together can tell you a lot.”– Evan MacLean, co-director of the Duke Canine Cognition Center, with his 3-year-old Labrador, Sisu.“There’s a famous French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu. He would say love is finding your fate with somebody. Basically what he means is that people born into the same social class develop similar personalities, ideas of what they want in life, what’s normal, how to communicate and even ideas of what love is. When you meet someone who grew up in the same class, you feel like it was fate because you have so much in common with them. That feeling of love is then finding someone who grew up in the same class conditions. And although it’s a wonderful feeling, it also has a downside - it reproduces inequality by leading to segregation by social class.” – Jessi Streib, Duke assistant professor of sociology and author of “The Power of the Past: Understanding Cross-Class Marriages,” which explores how love crosses class lines.“It kind of bypasses all of these outward things and becomes a connection between hearts, if that makes sense. That’s the message that we send through the work that we do here at the center, so when we pass out Love=Love shirts, we’re really talking about the essence, which is the connections that two souls make with one another.” – India Pierce, right, program coordinator for the Duke Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity. “Love is this abstract thing and it’s hard to grasp onto. It’s slippery and it falls through your fingers when you have it. You end up finding it in your pocket at the most random of times. For students, staff and faculty, for the people who feel that their love is being judged or looked negatively upon, just to be able to love, to love openly, is powerful. We all still want the opportunity to be able to love. For Valentine’s Day, love is always about loving someone else, but how are we giving time and thought to loving ourselves?”– Nick Antonicci, left, assistant director of the Duke Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity."Love is resonance. Historically, harp music often symbolizes light, divine communication, transformation and love. The harp is known for its gentle, evocative sound, and it is often considered a romantic instrument played with feminine elegance. When preparing my part, I study the music and consider the language of the composer and whether the harp part is used for accompaniment, texture or in a symbolic solo within the composition. I come from a place of love when I play the harp and I keep it that way through the formality of performance. I often find resonance with other musicians when performing, which takes the music to a much higher level of artistry."– Laura Byrne, Duke Music lecturer who has played the harp since she was 14 years old.“Romantic love, which I guess is my field of expertise, I have trouble capturing in less than 100,000 words, which is how I usually write. It’s complex. It’s driving. But I think if it’s a good love, it’s something you want to do a lot for and make a lot of sacrifices for. I write about falling in love across cultures a lot because first of all, that was my experience in my own marriage, but also once you do that, it’s really a very interesting test of couples. You have to figure out very early on if you’re willing to make that jump and risk one person leaving their country and one person totally uprooting themselves.”– Laura Florand, Duke Romance Studies lecturer and international bestselling author of the “Amour et Chocolat” series.
“When couples get married, their wedding day is filled with excitement and they are caught up in the romantic expression of love. Looking beyond the wedding day, their world is going to become more complicated. It is my hope that they will use the love and commitment they share with each other to reach out and find ways to love the marginalized of society and to make a difference in the community and world beyond, by providing for the hungry, the homeless and children in need. Love involves action and being proactive in the world we live in.”– Blanche Williams, Duke Chapel’s wedding director who has helped orchestrate about 500 ceremonies.
