Honr 211: Jane Austen's England

What must it be like to be an Elizabeth Bennett or a Mr. Darcy?  In “Jane Austen’s England”, we will immerse ourselves in Austen’s fictional worlds and also in Austen’s world outside of the texts.  We’ll read Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice before jumping to Mansfield Park, which we’ll read along with Elizabeth Inchbald’s drama at the heart of the novel—Lovers’ Vows.  We may stage a few scenes, paying homage to one of Austen’s favorite entertainments, before we leap to Emma, considering how modern day interpretations (such as Clueless) impact our perceptions.  With Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, we will conclude with very different texts; if there’s time, we may read Karen Joy Fowler’s The Jane Austen Book Club, as we consider the ways in which Austen’s texts have retained their popularity into 2006—and why.  Alongside our reading and viewing of adaptations, we will consider Regency England and the shifting culture of the early nineteenth century, particularly its music and art.  We will stage a tea dance, immersing ourselves in the rituals of polite society.  And there should be a trip to view art of the period too.

            There will be a fair bit of reading, of course.  But it is all wonderful, as the themes speak to humanity and many of its larger concerns.  Thus Austen’s texts continue to engage as they have done since she penned them—and we will find out why through our semester in “Jane Austen’s England”.