'Tis the Season for Giving: Top Reasons to Support Jane Austen's Desk
- Delicia Johnson
- 24 hours ago
- 3 min read
Christmas is just around the corner (well, tomorrow actually)! Whatever holiday tradition you celebrate, if any, there is nonetheless something in the air that makes people even more generous and mindful of the causes that need support. We humbly ask that you consider donating to our Kickstarter campaign to add music to Jane Austen's Desk.
Jane Austen's Desk (JAD) is our award-winning digital platform that offers a window into Jane Austen's world and a space for scholars, fans, and general readers around the world to explore and learn, as well as connect and collaborate. This is an interpretive vision of Austen's writing space and traveling desk, which works as a hub for hosting historical, musical, literary, material culture, and philosophical sources in as interactive a manner as possible.
After receiving two generous grants from the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH), funding has, unfortunately, been cancelled. We must now rely on individual donors to contribute financially and help us spread the word about our project and our need for funding.
Here are a few reasons to support JAD's Kickstarter campaign!
Jane Austen loved music.
In her years at Chawton Cottage, she got up early in the mornings to play her pianoforte and compose her thoughts. Music was important to her creative process. She talks about music in her letters, and her novels feature musically gifted characters such as Marianne Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility) and Jane Fairfax (Emma). In supporting our efforts to add music to Jane Austen's Desk, you'll be helping us add a feature that Jane Austen herself would've loved. The JAD team will add interactive tools by using historical instruments, professional performers, historic illustrations, information about composers and specific pieces, and crisp images of Austen’s own sheet music. If funds allow the JAD team will also include an interactive, playable pianoforte and harpsichord. You'll be able to embrace your inner Jane Fairfax and Mary Crawford! Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the unique sounds and mechanics of these historic instruments firsthand, playing pieces and even reading sheet music transcribed by Jane Austen herself.
Jane Austen's Desk is for everyone!
JAD is not only for scholars or students- it's accessible to everyone! It's also free! Your donation will help support a platform that allows anyone to immerse themselves in Jane Austen's world.
It's Jane Austen's 250th birthday.
What better way to celebrate one of the world's most beloved authors than to support a platform that features her life, works, and the period in which she lived. Donating to JAD's Kickstarter campaign is a tangible way to help keep Jane Austen's legacy alive for centuries to come- with the added bonus of the music she would've heard and played!
Supporting public and digital humanities projects are more crucial now than ever.
With loss of funding impacting public humanities projects such as JAD, organizations that are devoted to making education accessible to a broader audience are suffering. Public humanities breaks down academic walls, providing free and low-cost opportunities for the larger populace to engage with academia, including collaboration and discussion. More than ever we must rely on individuals to come together and support these projects. And who is better to support public humanities than the public itself?
The Kickstarter campaign ends on December 28th 11:59PM. As of now we are still $7, 280 away from our goal. Please consider donating and spreading the word!