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In the last days of winter term, snow and a decidedly determined mood blankets campus as students hunker down for final exams before spring break. Yet in Phillips Hall Room 209, the vibe is more jovial. The students in ENG542: Jane Austen are offering their modern takes on the classic Austen works Pride and Prejudice and Emma, rather than taking a traditional final exam or writing a paper.

Under the guidance of Jane Cadwell, instructor in English and the B. Rodney Marriott Chair in the Humanities, seniors in this elective class explore Austen鈥檚 work, according to the course description, 鈥渨ith a focus on her use of language to show the universal tension between raw desire 鈥� for money, power and love 鈥� and the restrictions鈥� of social conventions. In their presentations, the students flex their creative muscles to show how the enduring themes of Austen鈥檚 regency-era novels translate to modern life.

Charlotte Dassori 鈥�26 has used her knowledge of computer science to build a functioning online dating app populated with characters from the novels. Dassori invites her classmates and Cadwell to use their laptops to log in and find a match based on their own preferences. The five-minute exercise elicits giggles and leaves a few unhappy customers.

鈥淎w, I wanted Mr. Darcy!鈥� says Nora Unger 鈥�26, who reveals she matched with Mr. Bingley.

鈥淭his would have been helpful for Emma to have,鈥� Cadwell says.
After the exercise, Dassori shows her impressed classmates the backend of the program, revealing the code she used to develop it.
Luca Domingos-Worth 鈥�26 enlisted the help of friends Alex Johnson 鈥�26 and Josh Rohloff 鈥�26 to create a video podcast discussing the Austen novels. The Men in Waistcoats podcast (a play on the name of a popular soccer podcast Men in Blazers) looks at the novels through the lens of free agency in sports, when players are made available to sign contracts with new teams. 鈥淚 thought a lot of the characters in Pride and Prejudice, they鈥檙e always looking to change their status through marriage, and I thought that was reminiscent,鈥� Domingos-Worth says to introduce his video.

Complete with hyperbole and the requisite 鈥渉ot takes,鈥� the three friends banter about characters and their storylines. The boys liken Emma, the titular character who takes on the role of matchmaker, to a front-office executive of a sports franchise.

鈥淓mma is operating as a general manager at this point,鈥� one says. 鈥淪he has to be the undisputed G.O.A.T. of matchmaking.鈥� Another says, 鈥淢aybe that’s true, but as a manager anyway, big failure to sign a deal for Harriet this past week.鈥�

Kofi Annan-Brown 鈥�26 analyzes the modes of transportation in the novels and likens each to current automobiles. 鈥淭ransportation was a symbol of status,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd how often or how quickly a person could get to different locations showed how powerful they were.鈥�

The four-wheeled Barouche carriage Mrs. Elton rides in in Emma, he says, is like a Porsche. 鈥淭his is a show carriage just meant to flex her wealth,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚t basically highlights that Mrs. Elton and her friends are very showy people.鈥�

Annan-Brown explains that a single horse or a two-wheeled carriage is akin to a modern-day economy vehicle like a Honda. Annan-Brown then shares a comic strip he created showing the characters alongside their modern translations of transportation.

With the class period, and term, coming to a close, Cadwell provides the students with some parting words. 鈥淚 appreciate all your engagement and hard work,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 hope you feel like, 鈥楬ey, this was a great winter because we got to read these books and talk about them in a funny, entertaining way.鈥欌��