Royals Abroad: Exploring the World of Jane Austen

This summer, 18 Queens University students crossed the pond and came back with incredible stories from an enriching international experience in England, thanks to the John Belk International Program (JBIP). Their journey was the perfect culmination of a semester-long deep dive into Jane Austen’s literary works, expertly guided by our very own English department professors, Jennifer Daniel ’08 and Shawn Bowers Buxton ‘01.

But the adventure started long before they even packed their bags. As part of this intentional and immersive learning experience, Queens students had the opportunity to make connections between their international trip and events both on campus and in Charlotte.

Earlier in the year, students had the opportunity to attend “Parasols & Petticoats,” a Q&A session featuring “Bridgerton” author Julia Quinn at Queens University’s Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement. This dynamic discussion further enriched their understanding of Austen’s enduring influence on both literature and cinema.

A few miles away in Uptown Charlotte, students also took a private tour of the Mint Museum, connecting directly to the historical context of Austen’s novels through discussions about artifacts like Wedgwood fine China, and the intricate “art of dining” in British homes.

In England, the students immersed themselves in Austen’s world. They retraced her steps in the town of Bath and explored iconic London landmarks like St. Paul’s Church. More than just a trip, JBIP experiences offer incredible opportunities for students to catapult their classroom lessons directly into unforgettable real-world experiences.

Let’s hear firsthand from Professor Daniel and some of the students that took part in this incredible learning experience.

Jennifer Daniel, Ph.D.
Director, Writing Center & Writing Across the Curriculum Programs

“In ‘Emma,’ Jane Austen’s main character muses on the wonder of English verdure. The word verdure was borrowed from Old French (as with much of our language), and its primary definition refers to the lushness of green found in expansive vegetation. While England is by no means the only landscape that comes to mind with this sense of verdure, there is a tangibility to it that cannot be replicated. To connect with Emma’s thoughts as she looks down at the Abbey Mill Farm nestled between damp, dense woods and lush meadows as a river hugs the farm from behind, you must stand in that verdure physically. This embodied experience isn’t something that AI can create for you or be adequately captured on a TikTok video. We can’t make them in the classroom.

As instructors, we cannot manufacture these moments in class. All we can do is create opportunities for them to think creatively about what they have learned and to draw meaningful connections. These opportunities are what differentiate a Queens learning experience from others. As a teacher, it is this type of higher-order, critical thinking that makes me hopeful for our students and the university’s future. There is no better evidence for the power of a college education at a student-centered institution whose mission is to cultivate critical thinkers, innovative problem-solvers, and global citizens who lead with a purpose.”

Lily Knecht ’25, music therapy major

“It’s hard to describe what it feels like to walk into a place older than your country. To step into a cathedral that has stood for centuries, watching kings rise and fall, felt wars rage and settle, and heard prayers whispered from the lips of the desperate and the devout alike. I’ve come to find that it feels like the stillness and ash of burnt wood after fire has died: cold and strong.

I wondered if this place, with all its grandeur and contradictions, shaped Jane Austen. Did the tension between holiness and hypocrisy sharpen her pen? Did the Abbey’s solemn grandeur contrast too violently with the silly games of wealth and courtship she saw swirling around it?

That’s when I realized that Jane’s writing doesn’t just critique, it sees. It sees through the performance, through the lace and smiles and social climbing. But it’s also filled with longing. It’s reading longs for connection, justice, and love that feels real, not rehearsed.

I think standing in the vastness of the Abbey helped me understand that better, because the place itself is a paradox. A cathedral for redemption built atop buried bodies. A sanctuary full of history’s ghosts. A holy space still hosting human messiness.”

Jack Royer ’25, math major

“It was eye-opening to see all of the history that we saw. We measure things in hundreds of years; they think in thousands. I have been inside cathedrals and churches before, but they were nothing like this. I especially loved how they had certain parts of the foundation from the original church still there for display. It is crazy to think that parts of the church are 1,000 years old. That is something we joke about, calling someone 1000 years old, because it is beyond my imagination. The most impressive part is the time it took to build the church. It was not about building it as fast as possible or as functional as possible; it was purely about building the most beautiful place of worship possible. People would spend their entire adult lives carving statues to put in the church.”

Maura O’Toole ’26, psychology student

“It was at the Seven Sisters, chalk seas cliffs in East Sussex, that I felt the starkest contrast to the U.S. while we were abroad. English citizens don’t have to organize a road trip to see a National Park, paying a fortune along the way, just to experience being surrounded by something not entirely man-made. I’m still wrapping my mind around it.

Having had such an experience allowed me to tangentially understand things like the movement in Japan to restore more greenery to the country for the sake of mental health. I felt more alive, content, and high-spirited sitting on the beach looking for hagstones (these are stones with a hole in them. If you look through, you’re supposed to be able to see faerie realms) with Katie than I had in years.

This brings me to Austen. While the cliffs themselves didn’t necessarily remind me of her, I do think that sense of connection and orientation is something her readers extract from her works. I’ve heard criticism before of her stories in that they’re just stories about people going about their daily lives, and that nothing truly exciting happens. I would argue that people going about their daily lives is a very exciting thing if you know how to look at it the right way. Daily life is a pattern unique to each of us, but one that has occurred a billion times over and over in much of history. I can’t think of anything more connected to humanity on a grand scale than relating to another person’s (even a fictional one’s) daily life.”