ENGL 2599

This review is for fall 2024 Austen and Her Afterlives. Whether you are a diehard Austen fan, you've seen Pride & Prejudice 2005 once, or you have absolutely 0 experience with Austen, I highly recommend this class. The books covered are Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, and the short story Lady Susan. There is also at least one adaptation discussed per each work.
The course does move at a fast pace, requiring reading a novel roughly every two weeks. There are two midterm papers, a final paper, and an open-book take-home final exam. The take-home final is low pressure - as long as you write something interesting and coherent, you'll do just fine. The papers allow a lot of creative freedom and the rubric is clearly defined, so there will be no surprises. There are also 2 Acorns, short essays graded only on completion. You can use your work and ideas from these acorns to develop into one of your papers and it's not treated as self-plagiarism, so although these are an easy A, it's worth coming up with an idea you're interested in.
Attending this class in-person is definitely required and completely worth it. Participation is 20% of the grade, with some free absences allowed, and part of participation is thoughtful seminar contributions. Professor Brown makes this easy through fostering an open discussion where everyone's voice is welcome, as well as allowing time for small group discussions. If you have more to say or feel shy talking in a large group, go to office hours - she is always happy to talk about Austen and more with students. A great professor can make a bad class great, but this is a great class with a great professor. If you're considering this class, take it!