Jane Austen

Jane Austen has achieved what few other literary authors can boast: membership in the canon of great authors and an intensely devoted, energetic modern fan base complete with cosplay, fan fiction, pilgrimages, and a never-ending series of visual adaptations. Students will read Jane Austen's work in chronological order, explore some late 18th and early 19th century contexts (biographical, philosophical, literary, cultural, historical), become familiar with some of the central, current, and ongoing scholarly debates about Austen, and discuss the value of, and consider the insights revealed by, some modern adaptations of Austen's work.