Jane Austen Society of North America - Washington DC Region

Jane Austen: Music and Dance
2025-04-27 15:00 - 16:30 (America/New_York) | The Lyceum, 201 South Washington Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314
Join us for an afternoon concert featuring musicians from the Alexandria Chamber Music Society with musical pieces and dances known to Jane herself!
SOLD OUT!
Sunday, April 27, 2025
3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Eastern)
The Lyceum
201 S. Washington St.
Alexandria, VA 22314

Jane Austen Abolitionist
2025-03-01 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York)
We are delighted to host our very own JASNA member Margie Burns at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (901 G Street, NW, Washington, DC. ) for a book talk entitled “Pride and Prejudice as Rom-Com and Lesson: Doing Well by Doing Good”.
Room 401-E will open at 2 p.m. with talk to begin shortly thereafter.
Dr. Burns is the author of several books and scholarly articles on Austen. Her March 1 talk is based on her most recent book Jane Austen, Abolitionist: The Loaded History of the Phrase “Pride and Prejudice. For further information and to indicate interest in attending, please email jasna.dcrc@gmail.com

Divorce in Jane's Day
2025-01-26 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
We love how Austen’s novels end in happy marriages, but not everyone was happily married; not in her books nor in her day. So, how did one get out of a bad marriage back then? Come find out!
REGISTER HERE
Register for our January 26, 2025 virtual program at 4 p.m.! Dr. Rachel Gevlin of Virginia Commonwealth University will speak on “Jane Austen and the First Divorced Husband”, a reprise of her Cleveland AGM breakout session. This AGM session was not recorded, so will be new to you if you were not in the room where it happened!

Rachel Gevlin teaches 18th-century literature, literary theory and women writers at VCU. Her book project explores representations of marital disunion in the 18th-century novel. She has presented at two AGMs and for our JASNA-DC Region.

Annual Austen Luncheon 2024
2024-12-07 12:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
Dec. 7 at 12 p.m.: Celebrate Jane Austen’s Birthday with us at the Maggiano’s Little Italy (Friendship Heights location)!
Our annual Birthday Luncheon will be held at Maggiano’s Little Italy at 5333 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Lunch will be family style with vegetarian options.
Dr. Anne Fertig will present a talk on “Finding Jane Austen: Austen as Autobiographer,” addressing the question of whether we can find the historical Jane Austen in her literary works. Dr. Fertig founded Jane Austen & Co in 2019 and is now with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Register HERE!

"She played and sang": Music and Jane with Gillian Dooley
2024-06-23 19:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
We are delighted to be able to host Dr. Gillian Dooley on Sunday, June 23, 2024, from Australia, at 7:30 p.m. EDT.
Dr. Dooley will speak about her recent book, “She played and sang: Jane Austen and music,” which explores the role music played in Austen’s life and in her novels. Dr. Dooley is Honorary Senior Research Fellow in English at Flinders University. She has published and presented internationally on Jane Austen and has curated programs of music from Austen’s personal collection.

"Welcome in; Do not enter" Diversity in Austen Adaptations
2024-03-03 16:00 - 17:30 (America/New_York)
Mar. 3 at 4 p.m.: We will be welcoming Damianne Scott of “Black Girl Loves Jane” to our next virtual meeting!
“Welcome in; Do not enter: A thoughtful exposition on the encouragement and the disappointment of diversity in Austen adaptations”
This presentation will explain the theories for why diversity in Austen-based films and adaptations is desired, but not welcomed enthusiastically. The films and series to be discussed range from Bridgerton to Hallmark’s Sense & Sensibility (airing Feb 24th).

Damianne (Dami) Scott is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati Blue Ash and an Adjunct Instructor of English Composition at Cincinnati State. She has earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Xavier University. To celebrate the idea that it is perfectly wonderful to be an African-American woman who loves Jane Austen, she created the Facebook page “Black Girl Loves Jane” in 2018 which now has over 1500 followers.

Jane Austen: Protofeminist, Postfeminist, Bad Feminist
2024-01-28 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Our first program of 2024 will be a virtual one, on Sunday, January 28th, at 4 p.m. Dr Rachel Gevlin will reprise her breakout session at Denver’s AGM which covered scholarly and public perceptions of Jane Austen’s gender politics in Pride and Prejudice, tracing a brief history of debates around Austen’s role as a feminist, particularly as it relates to the novel. This was not one of the recorded AGM sessions, so will be new to you, unless you were there.
Dr Gevlin is Term Assistant Professor of English at Virginia Commonwealth University specializing in the history of the novel, masculinity studies, and legal histories of marriage and divorce. Her writing has appeared in publications such as Eighteenth Century Fiction, Eighteenth Century Life, and English Literary History. In 2021, Dr Gevlin presented on “Austen and Divorce Law” to our Region. We hope you can join us on January 28th for “Jane Austen: Protofeminist, Postfeminist, Bad Feminist”. We plan to allow plenty of time afterwards to ask what you think!

Austen Birthday Celebration
2023-12-09 00:00 - 23:59 (America/New_York)
Save the date for our annual Austen birthday celebration! Location and details TBA.

AGM Recap
2023-11-19 14:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
AGM recap with JASNA-Maryland on Zoom. Details TBA.

'Sense and Sensibility' screening
2023-10-21 14:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York)
Oct. 21 at 2 p.m.: “Sense and Sensibility” group viewing at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, 1660 Crystal City Dr., Arlington, Va. Food and beverages available for purchase. Metro accessible. Free parking. Tickets $25 by Paypal or check (payable to JASNA–DC). REGISTER

"Love in the Shrubbery: Austen's Garden Legacy"
2023-04-23 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Author Kim Wilson, a 2022-23 JASNA Traveling Lecturer, presents a talk on “Love in the Shrubbery: Austen’s Garden Legacy.”

"Regency London’s Ton and the Business of Pleasure"
2023-02-12 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
The First Quadrille at Almack’s.

Dr. Julie Taddeo, University of Maryland research professor of history, will present an assessment of the social, financial, and cultural characteristics of the Regency London Ton, the context for many significant events and relationships in Jane Austen’s novels. Dr. Taddeo lectures widely on Britain in the Georgian and Victorian eras and has published books on such topics as the Bloomsbury Group, Steampunk, and British period drama television. Register below or CLICK HERE.

"Brandon in India: Colonialism and Masculinity in the Late 18th Century"
2023-01-15 16:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Zoom presentation: JASNA-DC member Harper Sutherland will reprise her breakout session from JASNA’s recently concluded Annual General Meeting in Victoria, British Columbia. Fill out the form below to register and receive the Zoom link.

AGM Recap: Maryland & D.C. Joint Meeting
2022-10-16 14:00 - 16:00 UTC
Did you attend the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Victoria or attend virtually? Share stories, thoughts and highlights. Not able to attend the AGM? Learn what it was about and take notes on speakers and topics you want to hear in the future.

2022 JASNA England Tour Recap
2022-09-11 16:00 - 17:00 UTC
The D.C. region’s bench in the Chawton House rose garden in England. (Photo by Delia Bisgyer)
Spend your teatime with DC Metropolitan Region Board members who went on this year’s JASNA tour. Delia Bisgyer, Lily Dow, and Emily Gold have kindly agreed to share trip highlights and some of their favorite photos with us. The virtual get-together will be from 4 to 5 p.m. on Sept. 11. Come revisit your favorite Austen-connected sites or enjoy seeing them for the first time.

JASNA-DC Guest Speaker: Dr. Roger Moore
2022-06-12 16:00 - 17:30 UTC
Roman Baths in Bath, England. Photo by Alice Moore
Take the spa waters with us!
Where might Sanditon’s Mr. Tom Parker have found his inspiration for a fashionable spa bathing place? How did the practice of drinking tepid mineral water get started?
Join JASNA-DC virtually on Sunday, June 12, at 4 p.m. (ET) when Dr. Roger Moore reveals “The Prehistory of the Spa: Bath and Sanditon in Medieval Perspective.”
Dr. Moore, senior associate dean and principal senior lecturer in English at Vanderbilt University, is well known to JASNA members as an expert speaker on Austen topics.
Register below. There is no charge. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
We look forward to having you with us for what promises to be an excellent talk, followed by lively conversation!

A Spring Evening Chat About Austen
2022-03-31 19:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
Elizabeth Child, Professor of English at Trinity Washington University, will share her experiences teaching Jane Austen to first generation college students. JASNA-DC Board Member Jennifer Abella will teach us how to tap into the wealth of Austen related material available on-line. Followed by friendly chat! Bring your favorite beverage.
