Course Description
Summary
In this seminar, we will train our eyes on four of Jane Austen’s novels — Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion — with an aim to discover what connects and binds Jane Austen’s heroines together, what separates these women from each other, and to explore Austen’s evolution as a writer through the evolving nature of her protagonists. We will investigate what can be learned about not just 19th century Britain but more importantly, what we can learn about the 19th century woman from Austen, and then discuss how these 19th century visions and observations of womanhood compare and nod to contemporary life, love, station, romance, desire, obstacle, and possibility. Students will present their own work in a myriad of forms: individual and group presentations; brief essays; and an extended critical/research paper.
