May 4, 2013: Bride and Prejudice Movie Meeting
On Saturday May 4, JASNA Dayton member Veena Kasbekar will present a program on Bride and Prejudice, a film many of us enjoyed for its dizzying mix of Austen plot elements with a colorful chaos of Indian characters, culture, song and dance. Using scenes from the film, Veena will attempt to answer a difficult question: does the movie retain Austen's spirit and wit, set as it is against the backdrop of a Bollywood extravaganza, or does it pollute the shades of Pemberley?
The cultural mix came naturally to the film’s director, Gurinder Chadha, a woman of Indian parentage born in Nairobi and living in London. Veena likewise is well placed to elucidate the English and Indian elements in the film. Educated in Mumbai and the U.S, Dr. Kasbekar is professor of English at Ohio University-Chillicothe. Her long-ago dissertation was on English women writers from 1660-1820. She has loved Austen and Mr. Darcy since she was twelve years old.
Veena hopes attendees will have the time to view the movie itself before the presentation so that we can have a lively discussion on it.
Time: Saturday, May 4, 2:00-4:30 (Gathering from 1:30 on, but hot water for tea expected to be ready by 2:00)
Place: Kettering Moraine Branch of Dayton Metro Libraries (3496 Far Hills Avenue, Kettering 45429), in the meeting room on the right as you enter the front door. Parking and entrance are behind the building. Enter the lot from Far Hills using the alley on the south side of the building.
Cost: Free!
Refreshments: Hot water, plates, and napkins will be provided, along with sweetener, milk, and stirrers. Bring your own tea (or other beverage) and cup. Also please bring finger food to pass.
RSVP: Please let Meredith know if you are planning to come, at stoeha@yahoo.com or 937-434-7567.
September 15, 2013: From Northanger Abbey to Downton Abbey
Victoria Hinshaw, well-known to JASNA members as an expert on English Great Houses and abbeys, will present a talk “From Northanger Abbey to Downton Abbey,” explaining the history of abbeys and other religious houses in Britain, and how, after the Dissolution of Monasteries by Henry VIII, many of them were converted into private homes (such as the fictional Northanger Abbey and Downton Abbey).
The meeting will be held at Normandy United Methodist Church, a venue particularly suited to the topic. Normandy Church began as a private home built in the Medieval English Manor style and incorporating architectural antiques imported from old European buildings—very much the type of building Victoria Hinshaw will be talking about, except that it started as a home and ended as a church instead of the other way around. The meeting will, we hope, include a tour of the building, and it will also feature an elegant tea catered by our favorite Dayton tea room, Central Perc.
Be sure to save the date for this very special meeting.
November 10, 2013: Reading Group Meeting
The Reading Group will continue its discussion of Sense and Sensibility. This month's chapters will include Volume II, Chapters 4-10 (Continuous: 26-32). Visit the Reading Group page for more information.
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