I'm Inger Sigrun Bredkjær Brodey. Welcome to my desk.
As the contents of my desk might suggest, I'm a scholar, teacher, author, and public humanist. My interests tend to be international and comparative, as I was born in Japan, immigrated with my parents and brothers from Denmark, studied in Germany and Japan, and live in the United States. I'm also a mother of four creative kids and a lover of assorted crafts. Read a fun story about my family here.
At the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, I'm a Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature and Associate Dean of the new School of Civic Life and Leadership. I also serve as Adjunct Professor in Global Studies, and Affiliate Faculty in Asian Studies.
My new book on Jane Austen's endings, called Jane Austen and the Price of Happiness came out June 11, 2024 with Johns Hopkins UP. You can read a Publisher's Weekly review of it here, a New Yorker call-out here, the Sunday Times full-page review here, or see more reviews here. You can see a video of the book launch at Flyleaf Books, or listen to a podcast interview on Austen Chat or another conversation about the book on The Austen Connection.
I am also the Principal Investigator in an NEH grant to build "Jane Austen's Desk." The project imaginatively recreates Austen's environment during her most productive years, including information about what she was reading, where her family was traveling, and what was going on in the world around her. I'm excited to announce that the prototype is almost ready for viewing! Let me know if you would like to try out the test version and fill out a survey about it. Regardless, keep your eyes on www.janeaustensdesk.org. There will be a few small surprises in the coming months.
This past year, I've served as the Jane Austen Society of North America's Traveling Lecturer in Denver, CO; Boston, MA; Rochester, NY; Greenville, SC; New Orleans, LA; and Los Angeles, CA, among other places. I still have Denver, CO in August coming up. I just completed a Townsend fellowship at the UNC Institute for Arts and Humanities, enabling me to work on my new book on Austen's Asian Afterlives.
On the side, I also run three other Jane Austen-related non-profit organizations. Come to one of our events and meet me there (or leave a virtual sticky note on my desk).