Jane Austen for the Contemporary Reader

Fall (14 hours or more) | This course is completed

10 Hilton Field Road Hanover, NH 03755 United States

Dining Room

New

9/25/2017-11/13/2017

2:00 PM-4:00 PM EDT on Mon

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$80.00

8 sessions, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Mondays, September 25 through November 13, 2017
DOC House - Hanover, NH
Course Fee: $80

Jane Austen was born on the eve of the American Revolution and died two hundred years ago at the height of the Regency era. Although her novels were well received during her lifetime, they are even more popular today, attracting a large fan base known as Janites. Besides the novels, a consumer can purchase Jane Austen videos, action figures, tea towels, and jewelry; read Jane Austen fan fiction; and even play Jane Austen video games. What lies behind the appeal of Jane Austen to the contemporary reader?

Find out for yourself by participating in this eight-week course. During the course, you will read three of Austen’s novels for enjoyment, delve into their historical context, discuss the moral issues they raise, and apply them to your own experience. By the end of the course, you may be a “Janite” too

The teaching approach for the course will be an eclectic blend of discussion, group work, and some lecture supplemented with video clips from leading film and televised versions of the novels. Reading requirements will average 110 pages per week.

  • There will be a reading packet and required textbooks for this course.
Roberts, Marilyn

Marilyn Roberts is Professor Emeritus of English at Waynesburg University. During her graduate studies at Columbia University and Newcastle University, she specialized in the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Besides having taught Shakespeare at the college level for over thirty years as well as in several Osher courses, she has published articles about Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and other authors.