Experimenting with a New Type of University Course — Period: Theory, Thoughts, and Actions
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This article is part of the 31st issue of LEAP — Voices of Youth e-letter. Subscribe now.
Before the semester had even begun, over a thousand students competed with each other for 100 spots in a new course offered at National Taiwan University (NTU), “Period: Theory, Thoughts, and Actions”. The course became one of the most heated topics of discussion on campus this autumn semester. This general education course gathered experts across different domains and students from various backgrounds to examine the physiological phenomenon of menstruation, or women’s “periods,” in a journey of thoughts and action.
From Science to the Humanities: The Context of the Course Design
“Menstruation is a fun topic. People like to talk about it. Also, there are many contexts and values behind the topic to be discussed,” said Dr. Ruby Huang, explaining the original intention behind the course design. Huang is a Professor at the National Taiwan University School of Medicine, the main organizer of this course.
Over the 16 week long semester, experts from multiple domains co-taught the course, allowing students to engage in comprehensive discussions and gain a full understanding of the various aspects of the topics related to periods. Huang said, “If the country is to discuss specific policies regarding periods, it should bring together experts from various domains. That’s what this course did.”
In the first 3 weeks, researchers from the School of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, and the Genomic Research Center, Academia Sinica gave science-based lectures to provide students with medical and physiological knowledge on menstruation.
What followed are discussions focused on a wider range of topics about periods — from more common ones, such as period discrimination and poverty to periods and labor rights. The course came to an end with two additional themes, “Periods and Drama” and “Periods and Theology”, which were explored to examine other levels of meaning regarding menstruation in human society from a cultural perspective.
“Our course design first begins with science before gradually touching on the humanities and personal experiences.” Huang insisted that any discussion of social contexts must base on a solid scientific ground to stay focused.
In addition to the university professors, the nonprofit organization Little Red Hood, which focuses on topics related to menstruation, was invited to introduce various menstruation products to the students, who shared their actions and experiences in class.
The founder of Little Red Hood, Vivi Lin, noted that, “Unlike in elementary school and middle school, where we have to spend more time on basic knowledge, we had the opportunity to guide students to take action in a university course.” From spending a long period of time with university students, she gained a clearer understanding of the difficulties one might face when promoting topics at school. Thus, she could offer assistance from the perspective of an advocate.
From Dialogue to Action: The Process of Student Participation
In addition to lectures, this course also emphasized group discussions,, as well as group presentations at the end of the semester. Hsiang, a male student who majors in Agricultural Economics, stated, “I strongly agree with the ideal conveyed by this course that even though I am a man, half of the people around me have periods, so I should have more understanding and empathy.”
Hsiang said that, although he would never experience menstruation himself and sometimes could not truly understand the inconveniences caused by it, he could provide an objective perspective. For example, when the course was discussing period leave, he focused on how to establish an effective system, and he offered his views about the stigma of “that time of the month” from a male perspective.
A student from the Department of Engineering Science and Ocean Engineering, Coco Fang, stated that as a biological female, she had long suffered discomfort from her period. At first, she only thought the class would be “cool” and wanted to take it to further understand her body. But after completing the course, she felt that the discussions in class had given her a deeper understanding of problems related to the social context, problems that she had rarely given thought to in the past.
“I had never thought that our need to discretely carry feminine hygiene products and use other terms, instead of calling it ‘menstruation’, was an invisible form of discrimination and labeling,” said Fang.
From the students’ final presentations, their capacity for action was evident. Fang went to various drug stores to investigate the functions and prices of various period products, and her investigation made her realize the economic burden placed on women by their periods. Hsiang and his group, on the other hand, worked together to conduct street interviews of passersby, using questions to convey knowledge about menstruation to the interviewees.
Some students investigated the “period tax.” They compared the tax regulations in various countries and highlighted problems with the laws in Taiwan. Some students imitated the long-term practice promoted by Little Red Hood: They placed “Period Product Sharing Boxes” in bathrooms around campus to encourage people to freely donate to those in need, creating a benevolent cycle.
Connecting International Cultures to Optimize the Featured Course
The course spent two weeks on watching and discussing an Indian movie, “Padman.” “Padman” describes a man who sees his wife troubled by menstruation. He cannot afford expensive imported feminine hygiene products, so he decides to research and develop pads. However, in the then conservative Indian society, he encounters enormous discrimination and numerous difficulties.
This movie is no doubt an excellent springboard for discussing the stigma of menstruation and period poverty. Specifically, during the discussion, a student pointed out that each society has its existing context, and before discussion, people must have a comprehensive understanding of that context so as not to take the moral high ground or adopt an overly righteous or critical perspective and consequently lose sight of the core issue.
Professor Huang agreed with this view. She maintained that menstruation, as a phenomenon encountered by all people regardless of skin color or ethnic heritage, has the possibility to engage the attention of, and requires the participation of, people from various countries. Thus, the project in this course will not end when the semester is over. Huang plans to offer this course in English next semester so as to attract more international students from NTU. Such students will bring their first-hand cultural experience to the classroom, allowing teachers and students to gain a deeper understanding of the issues around menstruation in different countries. Their contributions are expected to add richness and honesty to the discussion.
“If I can continue to develop the prototype of this course,” stated Huang in a hopeful tone, “maybe this course can spread around the world and become a featured course at NTU.”.
Also in This Issue:
On Menstruation Issues: Removing Stigmas and Initiating Actions from a Perspective of an Educator
A university course at NTU has opened up more space for teachers and students to talk about period and turn thoughts into practice.
Author : Hsien Liu
Freelance writer / Graduate student in Journalism
