Harvard studies Austen as Chick Lit
Any Harvard students out there? Made up your class schedules for fall yet? You might want to take a look at this first…
Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality 1122. “The Romance: From Jane Austen to Chick Lit.”
If last spring’s Kaavyagate was any indication that Chick Lit is in, then the Women, Gender, and Sexuality department has certainly taken notice. “The Romance: From Jane Austen to Chick Lit” will compare classic Austen novels to modern revisions such as Bridget Jones’s Diary. But don’t expect “How Opal Mehta…” to be on the syllabus.
The comparisons might turn out to be quite illuminating. At least we hope so.
July 11th, 2006 at 4:36 am
That sounds like it would be rather fascinating. Analyzing the differences between contemporary adaptations and the original is something I do all the time and it drives my friends up the wall. This actually makes said activity legitimate instead of irritating. Too bad I don’t go to Harvard. Too bad I’ll be studying abroad in England. No, nevermind. I’ll take the trip to England.
July 12th, 2006 at 10:02 pm
I cannot be the only reader, male or otherwise, who finds any reference to Austen’s work as “chick lit” to be fatuous and enervating.
July 14th, 2006 at 1:57 am
Tom: No. It makes me nuts. That’s why I said the comparison might be illuminating.
I don’t mean it as a slam on chick lit–not my cuppa but I know lots of people like it. I just think that calling Jane Austen the “mother of chick lit” or saying that her books were “the first chick lit” does them a disservice. They’re about romance, yes, but they’re so much more.