"Will & Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity" is an exhibition that is now running at the Folger Shakespeare Library until November 6. The library invites everyone with different tastes and interests to celebrate Will and Jane.
Even comic book lovers are coming over. The curators of the event wanted to speak to visitors about the writing beyond their classrooms. In addition, they also wanted to test out if humanities are open to the idea of literature in a world in love with science, engineering, mathematics and technology (STEM).
STEM is a dominant field in the world today. Which is why the addition of Jane Austen to the Folger Library is a bold move, The Washington Post said. Those who study or have read Jane Austen's works know that she is a prominent ambassador of English literature. And Shakespeare's works were mostly set on stage in the current setting. But the exhibit notes that even Jane Austen herself was a fan of the great William Shakespeare.
Janine Barchas, the English professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and Kristina Straub, an English professor at Carnegie Mellon University, explained that the English departments where they work are either made or ruined by the narrow range of products available. Both authorities feel that they have learned new things from the curation of Will and Jane.
They explain that they are only able to get employment, job tenure and promotion based on scholarly books and articles. They hope to encourage different audiences and their academic colleagues to branch out from their fields and disciplines, and ultimately narrow anything that divides them. For these women, it is important that the department is able to take their place once again in the core of a school's life.
Barchas and Straug even notes that it is also possible poaching some STEM majors into Humanities classes who realize that STEM is not for them.
Want some more Jane Austen? Watch this Ted Talk below on what Jane Austen can teach us today.
