Department of English

Topic: Jane Austen - Her Novels and Their Afterlives

Jane Austen’s novels are as popular today as ever—witness for instance the 2020 film Emma, starring the American-born, British-Argentine actress Anya Taylor-Joy as Emma, and directed by the American Autumn de Wilde. What accounts for the endurance of Austen’s popularity? Does it matter that Anya Taylor-Joy got her start acting in horror (in films like The Witch or Split), or that Autumn de Wilde is best known not for her work in film but rather for the CD covers and music videos she designed and directed for bands and artists such as Fiona Apple, Beck, The Decemberists, Rilo Kiley, Death Cab for Cutie, and Tegan and Sara? Or consider the 1995 film Clueless, directed by Amy Heckerling and starring Alicia Silverstone as Cher. Did you know that the film is based closely on Austen’s Emma? Or that it was itself later rewritten and performed as an off-Broadway musical in 2018?

Questions about Austen’s longevity and continued relevance will motivate our study of her novels in their own context as well as in ours. Austen’s earliest admirers were divided when it came to assessing Austen: was her vision traditional, hierarchical, and conservative, or was it rather progressive, democratic, liberal? Are her allegiances with the traditional or with the innovative? With the old ways, or with new ones? These and other inquiries are ones we will attempt to tackle as we read through Austen’s oeuvre. Students will be expected to complete all of the course readings (which will include all 6 major novels) and to watch assigned film adaptations; to consider attendance and active participation mandatory (this will be a discussion-based class!); and to participate in short writing assignments and quizzes, as well as a final writing project. Austen tattoos optional.