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English Program

2025 Eclectic Texts Conference (ETC)

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In the fall of 2024, 17c黑料’s Department of English and Languages launched the Eclectic Texts Conference (ETC). Embodying the university vision of “Christ and Culture,” this  two-day event considers the significance of popular texts within literary, political, religious, and scholarly discourses, with particular focus on how these texts intersect with Christian faith and discipleship. Consistent with George Fox’s emphasis on undergraduate education, this event specifically welcomes undergraduate research into conversation with professional scholarship. 

Beneath the Bonnet poster

ETC 2025 Beneath the Bonnet: The Secret World of Jane Austen

Dear Reader, 

We formally invite you to join us November 14-15 for this year’s Eclectic Texts Conference as we delve “Beneath the Bonnet” into the Secret World of Jane Austen.

Keynote Presentations

Jane Austen on the Big Screen, Prof. Alex Chung
How does a classic novel become a beloved BBC miniseries or a box-office blockbuster? In our Friday afternoon keynote, Professor Chung will discuss the process of adapting Austen from page to script to screen in an attempt to address the benefits and challenges of translating prose into sound and image.
The Ideal Woman: Marketing, Marriage, and the Cultivation of Accomplishment, Natalie Green
What attributes must a woman cultivate so succeed in the marketplace? From the ball room to the board room, the image of the accomplished woman must be carefully curated for financial success. In our Brunch Keynote, Senior English major Natalie Green will explore the cultural and economic pressure that shape women’s self-presentation in Austen’s world and our own. 

Special Events

Austentatious Ball
Come immerse yourselves in the world of Jane Austen's balls! On Friday night a professional dance caller/instructor will come and teach us the art of Regency dancing. Costumes are encouraged, but not required. This is a ticketed event. Tickets will be distributed at the end of the first keynote and are included in your registration fee. 
World Premier Staging-Austen In The Making
Our own Joe Thouvenal has received permission to stage a collection of short scenes and one acts based on Austen's Juvenilia. The production will include a talk back session after the show, and our final conference raffle for Austentatious prizes (including the Austen LEGO set). 

Schedule of Events

Friday, November 14

Check-In
3:30 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Hoover Academic Building
Opening Keynote
4 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Hoover Academic Building - HVR 105

Jane Austen on the Big Screen - Professor Alex Chung

How does a classic novel become a beloved BBC miniseries or a box-office blockbuster? In our Friday afternoon keynote, Professor Chung will discuss the process of adapting Austen from page to script to screen in an attempt to address the benefits and challenges of translating prose into sound and image.

**Attendance is required at the Opening Keynote in order to receive your ticket to The Austentacious Ball.**

Dinner On Your Own & Prepare for the Ball
5 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Walk to one of the many restaurants downtown Newberg or eat on campus Canyon Commons. Then, don your finest Regency apparel and return for The Austentacious Ball!
Austentatious Ball
7:00 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Canyon Commons - CCD 101-103

The Austentatcious Ball is a ticketed event. Tickets are free and will be distributed to registered conference attendees who attend the Friday opening keynote presentation.

Regency era costumes are encouraged! Participants may enter the costume contest and compete for prizes. 

Saturday, November 15

Check In
8:30 a.m. - 9 a.m.
Hoover Academic Building
Session A - Interactive/Immersive Panels
9 a.m. - 10 a.m.
Hoover Academic Building
Panel 1 - HVR 103
Austen in Action: Pride, Dungeons, Prejudice, Dragons
Presented by Bronwyn Graves
Panel 2 - HVR 105
Austen in Action: Jane Austen Meets Live Theatre
Presented by Kathleen Jones
Panel 3 - HVR 203
Austen in Action: Austen in the Making
Presented by Joe Thouvenal
Session B - Film // Feminism
10:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Hoover Academic Building
Panel 1 - HVR 102
Regency Remix: Film, Fanfiction, and Adaptations of Austen         
  • The Scholarly Shadows in Austen Films & Fanfiction, Arnie Perlstein
  • How Far is too Far?: Jane Austen Adaptations, Wesley Brewer
  • A First Line Universally Acknowledged: Public Domain Pride & Prejudice in Want of Remix, Holly Shelton
Panel 2 - HVR 206
Beneath the Bonnet: Psychology, the Gothic, and Bad Behavior in Jane Austen                     
  • Prejudice, Persuasion, and Pride: Jane Austen’s Psychological Mirror, Samantha Prewitt
  • Horrid Hysteria: How Northanger Abbey Vivisects the Interaction of Femininity and Gothic Literature in the 19th Century, Anna Nygren
  • Girls Gone Wild: The Bad Sister in Jane Austen, Claire Waldroup
Keynote Two & Brunch
11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Canyon Commons - CCD 101-103

The Ideal Woman: Marketing, Marriage, and the Cultivation of Accomplishment - Natalie Green

What attributes must a woman cultivate to succeed in the marketplace? From the ball room to the board room, the image of the accomplished woman must be carefully curated for financial success. In our Brunch Keynote, Senior English major Natalie Green will explore the cultural and economic pressures that shape women’s self-presentation in Austen’s world and our own. 

Session C - Aesthetic Form // Feminism
1:15 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Hoover Academic Building
Panel 1 - HVR 102
Representing the Real: Truth, Artistry, and Moral Instruction in Jane Austen                      
  • Artistic Imagery in Jane Austen, Dale Brabham
  • How are Stories True? St. Augustine’s Neoplatonism on Pride and Prejudice and the Gospel of St. Mark, Colton Kirby
  • Didactic or Reductive? The Grotesque in Austen and O’Connor, Jane Gonzales
Panel 2 - HVR 207
A Woman’s Worth: Marriage Markets, Sex-Selection, and Love in Jane Austen                      
  • Sex and Sensibility: Sexual Selection in 18th Century England, Madison Fuller
  • What is Love?: Jane Austen Don't Hurt Me, Emily Busch
  • Through the Eyes of Men, Women, and Jane Austen: The Worth of A Woman, Darian Vertz
Session D - History & Religion // Feminism
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Hoover Academic Building
Panel 1 - HVR 102
Contemporaries and Context: The Scientific, Religious, and Political World of Jane Austen
  • Pride & Prejudice & Plesiosaurs: The Lives of Jane Austen and Mary Anning, Paul Friesen
  • Mary Wollstonecraft’s Ideal Female Within Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Bethany Cook
  • A Proper Place: Jane Austen in the Pew, Alyssa Watson
Panel 2 - HVR 206
A Woman’s Work: Matriarchies, Motherlessness, and Marriage in Jane Austen                     
  • Is Jane Austen Really Feminist?, Brigitta Andreas
  • Rewriting Pride and Property: Reading Pride and Prejudice through Minangkabau Matrilinage, Fathir Anwar
  • Motherlessness in Mansfield Park and Emma, Rachel Boylan
Session E - Popular Culture
4 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Hoover Academic Building - HVR 105
Panel - HVR 105
An Accomplished Woman: Performing Femininity in Austen’s World and Today
  • PBS Marriage: Jane Austen as Conduct Novelist, Claire Ahlem
  • Sabrina, You’re So Jane Austen: Sex, Bodies, and Female Agency in Pride and Prejudice and Man’s Best Friend, Arabelle Bruner
  • Pride & Prejudice and the #TradWife Life, Melanie Springer Mock
Break for Dinner & Alumni Dinner
5 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Walk to one of the many restaurants downtown Newberg or eat on campus Canyon Commons.

We invite alumni to join us for a catered dinner with department faculty and students. .

Austen in the Making: A Theatrical Experience
7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Wood-Mar Auditorium
Finish out the conference with delightful a one act performances exploring Jane Austen's Earliest Works, directed by Joseph Thouvenal.

FAQ

The conference is scheduled Nov. 14-15, 2025, on the 17c黑料 campus in Newberg, Oregon. On Friday, we’ll host a keynote speaker and have a special after-conference event. On Saturday, we’ll host panel sessions in the morning and afternoon and a keynote speaker during brunch. Our final speaker will close the conference in the afternoon. In the evening, we will host a world premere theatre event.  
Yes! We encourage high school students to attend Friday @ Fox before the conference. Sign up to Friday @ Fox and receive a 50% discount for ETC!
Yes! This conference is open to all who love Jane Austen, including pastors, teachers, parents and fans. We particularly want to invite high school students to attend! The event is a great opportunity to learn even more about Austen, experience a university campus, and see firsthand how a liberal arts education can help you think more deeply about the things you love.
This is a teaching conference, so we want to invite those with little or no conference experience to take part in the fun of presenting a conference paper. In particular, we welcome all undergraduate, graduate, and professional scholars to present on all things Austen. Papers from unaffiliated scholars, community members and others will all be considered. Proposals are due by Wednesday, October 8th, and are to be submitted to gfu-english@georgefox.edu.
A conference paper proposal poses the question your paper will be considering, gives some context for why this question matters, offers a tentative thesis, and describes how you will make your argument. The proposal should include the paper title, follow MLA formatting, and be about 300 words in length (give or take 10%).
A conference paper is 15 minutes long (about 7.5 double-spaced pages, 12-point Times New Roman font). Papers are presented as part of a panel. A panel is a grouping of papers, typically three, that are thematically linked that conference presenters put together. After all three papers are presented, there is a time for questions. Presenters, especially undergraduate and graduate presenters, typically read prepared papers. Some presenters like to use a slideshow to accompany their paper.
Email your 300-word proposal (outlined above) to gfu-english@georgefox.edu. We will review the proposal and let you know if your paper is accepted for the conference. While we hope to include most paper submissions, sometimes a paper simply doesn’t fit the conference theme or have the necessary academic value.

Once we’ve reviewed your proposal, we’ll email you to let you know if your paper has been accepted. By Oct. 1, we will have the conference schedule available so you know when and where you will present. You can register for the conference at any time, and even if your paper isn’t selected, we’d love for you to attend!

We ask that you attend as much of the conference as possible to support our presenters and speakers. No access to the Austentacious Ball will be given without an official ticket (given to checked-in attenders at the conclusion of the first keynote). 
Newberg has many hotels and other accommodations to offer. If you are looking for lodging, check out our lodging and accommodations page for deals and discounts..
We will not have a remote attendance option this year. We encourage you to use this conference as an excuse to visit our beautiful campus or connect with Austen fans near you.
High school students who register for and attend Friday @ Fox on November 14, 2025 are eligible to receive a 50% discount on their ETC registration.
Please ask! You can email gfu-english@georgefox.edu with any additional questions.

Past Events

ETC Poster

Taylor Swift: The Voice of an Age

The theme of the 2024 conference, “Taylor Swift: The Voice of an Age,”  explored the impact Swift has had on our culture through panels, presentations, and activities.

Papers were presented by faculty, alumni, and current students, including both English majors and non-majors. Topics ranged from an investigation into a potential conspiracy between Swift and the NFL, to her influence on feminism, to how Christians communities can learn from her fan base.

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