Austen: Annotated and Adapted Thiel College F'24 Dashboard
Description
A senior English capstone course project focusing on Jane Austen's world.
Galleries, Timelines, and Maps
A gallery exhibit showcasing religion in Jane Austen's Society. A variety of images are displayed and shown, including religious clothing from the time in which Jane Austen was alive, an 1806 King James Bible, old Church documents playfully filled out by Austen and a marriage witness signature from her and her sister, stained glass windows, and church pews that discuss designated seating between rich and poor individuals. The Anglican customs and beliefs are displayed throughout each of these gallery exhibits, as well as the extensive history of the Church of England, how Anglicanism shaped Austen's life, and how her career was affected by religion.
A gallery exhibit showcasing the military, their role, and their impact on the society and world of Jane Austen and her novels. As Jane Austen spent a majority of her life during wartime and had brothers in the military, she was very familiar with how her militia behaved off of the battlefield. Many of the images presented are drawings of genuine military artifacts used by the English Miliary during the Napoleonic, French, and American Revolution wars. Other images are satirical pieces depicted the lives of the English common people during wartime. Regardless, the knowledge and understanding gained from each image gives the reader context into Jane Austen’s life and why she depicted the military in her novels in certain fashions.
To better understand the world of Jane Austen's works, we need to understand the society she is writing in. Even though she does not often describe what her characters are dressed in, when she does bring up fashion, it is often notable in terms of character personality, social status, or plot. Regency fashion is notable in its distinct rejection of the former era of fashion as it had neoclassical influence, simplicity, and natural beauty.
Assemblies, balls, and dancing are central to the plots and themes of many of Jane Austen’s novels. Similarly, these events were central to sociability during the Georgian and Regency Eras, as they provided a socially acceptable setting for men and women to meet and begin forming relationships. Knowledge of these aspects of society help readers to better understand Austen’s writing. This exhibit displays various aspects of balls and dancing during the Regency Era, including assembly rooms, music, dancing styles, dress code, and overall ballroom culture and etiquette to provide historical context for the works of Jane Austen.