This module examines Jane Austen’s life and work within the context of her time and in relation to her contemporaries. It will also explore Austen’s place within literary history, as well as locating her work and her world in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries by comparing and contrasting the original texts with TV and film adaptations, sequels and textual transformations at the hands of modern directors and writers.

The module will begin with a focus on skills required for literary analysis and Austen’s critical reception, as well as covering research methods and modes of accessing available resources, in order to better prepare students for the subsequent fields of study and for the assessed part of the module. All six novels will be discussed, although lectures and seminars will predominantly focus on extracts from the novels that explore particular themes of interest, such as female education.  Throughout the module of three weeks, film versions of the novels will also be screened.

This module will consist of a minimum of 45 contact hours with teaching taking place between 9 am and 5 pm from Monday to Friday.