Proseminar Jane Austen

-It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” This is the first sentence of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813) and it serves well to demonstrate two aspects. First: one of the themes in Austen’s work is marriage (and love), something a lot of readers instantly connect with her texts. Second: there is more to it than this, for the aspects money, economics as well as class and society are also factors which are part of this quote and should be taken into consideration. It is obvious that since Austen’s work is very well-known and was often adapted in literature and film we need to differentiate between popular opinion and literary criticism. Therefore, in this Proseminar, we will analyse closely three of Jane Austen’s novels as well as a range of film adaptations. Approaching these works with a critical perspective, common topics, aspects and themes as well as differences within the chosen works will be examined. Issues of class, society, gender as well as narrative style and literary / historical context will be part of our discussions. As Austen’s works are a well-researched subject within English studies, a wide range of secondary literature is available. Two sources are very useful in order to gain first insights into the field and will also be used as reading material in this seminar: Copeland, Edward and Juliet McMaster (eds.): The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011. Print. Todd, Janet (ed.): Jane Austen in Context. Repr. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007. Print. Texts: Films: Northanger Abbey (1818) Northanger Abbey (BBC 1987 and ITV 2007) Pride and Prejudice (1813) Pride and Prejudice (BBC 1995 and Universal 2005) Mansfield Park (1814) Mansfield Park (1999 and ITV 2007) Voraussetzungen In order to take part in this seminar you have to have finished reading Northanger Abbey (1818) and you have to attend the first session. Please be prepared for a test on Northanger Abbey. Please make sure to buy the Norton Critical Editions of the three novels we are going to read. Leistungsnachweis Regular and active participation, oral presentation, research paper (10-15 pages). FB 02 Institut für Anglistik / Amerikanistik In order to take part in this seminar you have to have finished reading Northanger Abbey (1818) and you have to attend the first session. Please be prepared for a test on Northanger Abbey. Please make sure to buy the Norton Critical Editions of the three novels we are going to read. Regular and active participation, oral presentation, research paper (10-15 pages). Uni Kassel SoSe 2013 Anglistik/Englisch Anglistik/Englisch Wendel Jacqueline