Jane Austen's Magic: Ink, Pen, and Words

Description

In advance of the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth in 2025, join Evelyne Ender, senior lecturer in the Department of Comparative Thought and Literature, for a presentation of the author's fiction in terms of its brilliant and touching humanity. The lecture, hosted by Hopkins at Home, will illuminate Austen's portrait of human relations, a world shaped by live dialogue but also staged and modulated by the circulation of letters.

The preparatory materials for this presentation will direct attendees to scenes from Austen's novels that highlight the significance of letters and literacy in her world. These moments enable us to reflect on the historical and cultural significance of that old-fashioned gesture that consists of putting pen to paper.

Please attend the event by using the Hopkins at Home link.

Ender's many articles and book chapters, published in English and in French, are indeed driven by one conviction, namely that an ever-renewed attentiveness to what words and language(s) can tell us is key to our humanity. Holding a pen or pencil to generate script may seem quaint, but in a world enthralled by electronic communications and devices, it may be salutary at times not only to slow down but to be reminded of the weight that words carry—for good and for evil.