Jane Austen

Catalog description

In this course, students will read key novels by the English author Jane Austen (1775-1817), in order to investigate the human need to tell stories, make art, and foster social change. Through textual analysis, class discussion, and critical response essays, students will examine how Austen employs distinctive literary devices, structures, and genres to affect and inform her contemporary readers and to reveal to later readers the complexities of her culture. By exploring Austen’s works, students will gain a greater understanding of human diversity, since by seeking to understand early nineteenth-century English discourses of class, gender, identity, and art, we can recognize better the roots and stakes of our current American moment. In addition, we shall explore the social conventions of early nineteenth-century England and how they might help us to understand why Austen’s novels continue to be enjoyed and studied, even though current contexts and conventions are often significantly different.