Abstract
The construction of a course for adult learners who are not studying for a qualification or credits but rather for enjoyment and engagement with learning for its own sake, requires an approach centered on needs which may not be entirely academic. Drawing on students’ individual life experiences while avoiding assumptions based on familiarity with the material shapes the course and offers many benefits. The essay is based on teaching Workers Education Association (WEA) courses and proposes the structure of a literature course on Frances Burney’s 1814 novel The Wanderer. It selects thematic content which resonates with older learners, such as ‘othering’ and gender politics, women’s experience of being alone, the public versus private and the struggle to earn a living.
Keywords
Burney; The Wanderer; WEA; Blue Humanities; female accomplishments; life chances
Recommended Citation
Al Jamil, Miriam
(2026)
"Lifelong Learning: Approaches to Teaching Frances Burney’s The Wanderer to Adults,"
ABO: Interactive Journal for Women in the Arts, 1640–1830: Vol.16: Iss.1, Article 4.
http://doi.org/10.5038/2157-7129.16.1.1475
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/abo/vol16/iss1/4
Figure 1. Church of St Michael, Mickleham, Surrey, where Frances Burney was married. Creative Commons.
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Figure 2. Nicolas Matthew Condy, the Younger, HM Packet Brig 'Sheldrake', Lt Passingham Entering Falmouth Harbour, 1834 Royal Museums Greenwich, RMG BHC3636, Public Domain.
1475 image 3.png (486 kB)
Figure 3. Rose Adélaïde Ducreux, Self Portrait with a Harp, 1791. Oil on Canvas, The Met, Object Number: 67.55.1; Bequest of Susan Dwight Bliss, 1966; Public Domain.
Included in
Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons
