I have published three books on Jane Austen. I am now writing a public-facing monograph on the importance of Austen’s works to the future of the humanities. I am committed to shifting the tenor and the telos of the conversation to speak to different public audiences about how and why Austen’s stories inform the importance of the humanities–now and in the future.

I leverage the enduring popularity and diverse, unthreatening appeal of Jane Austen to engage in a new public conversation about the work and efficacy of the humanities. My project relies upon research from the writings of Austen as well as interviews with 20-25 Anglophone critics and artists to delineate six impactful lessons of the humanities: (1) Northanger Abbey shows us that knowledge is a process that involves ignorance, (2) Sense and Sensibility shows us that relationships are messy, (3) Pride and Prejudice shows us that change affects everyone, (4) Mansfield Park shows us that resiliency is not a one-off activity, (5) Emma shows us that living in community is hard, and (6) Persuasion shows us that there is no script for happiness. This structure provides the basic organization for multiple modes of dissemination that result from my research, beginning with a public podcast, the first episode of which will go live in January 2025 to coincide with the beginning of the global celebrations of the 250^th anniversary of Austen’s birth.

I begin with the podcast because it offers an effective means of reaching public audiences often preoccupied with multiple activities and responsibilities; over the next 4-5 years, I will continue to draw on my research to generate a public-facing monograph, a documentary film designed for YouTube distribution, and an edited collection highlighting innovative work on/with Austen informed by the digital humanities, public humanities, and community-based humanistic scholarship.