What if Jane Eyre had a Tinder profile? Or if Edward Rochester had a Reddit account?
These are the kinds of questions students explore in Global 19th Century Literature, an undergraduate course at the University of Iowa taught by Cherrie Kwok, assistant professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and CSSI researcher affiliate. It brings a fresh perspective on a literary classic and develops critical-thinking skills.
For one assignment, students create social media profiles for literary characters from Jane Eyre. Called Brontëgram, a nod to both the author and Instagram, the exercise encourages students to write in the voice and style of Gen Z while considering how these 19th-century characters still resonate today.
Kwok’s research focuses on English-language literature from around the world, spanning the 19th century to the present. She examines themes of race, gender, and empire through the perspectives of writers from formerly colonized nations and modern reinterpretations of novels written during the height of the British Empire. In CSSI’s Write on Target program, she developed a peer-reviewed journal article that brings together postcolonial theory and Victorian poetry.
Her interest in connecting the past with the present extends to Brontëgram, where she encourages students to interpret 19th-century characters through the lens of today’s social media culture.
“Part of my research and teaching is to show how a lot of our contemporary cultural, political, and social issues or ideas have their roots in the 19th century,” Kwok says.
In Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, the young governess Jane falls in love with the controlling and manipulative Edward Rochester while working at his country estate.
“The whole point of the assignment is to ask, if this 19th-century character were alive today, what would they say?” Kwok says. “It's not hard to find someone like Edward Rochester in our contemporary moment — usually on the apps.”
Through Brontëgram, she says, students apply critical thinking beyond the traditional essay while practicing creativity in a very relatable way.
“The students loved it, and I was really impressed by how they worked in groups and how they knew what they wanted to do. Once I had explained the assignment, they needed very little guidance.”
Expanding perspectives on British literature
In Jane Eyre, Jane and Mr. Rochester fall in love and plan to marry. However, Rochester is still married to Bertha Mason, a Caribbean woman whom he has confined to the attic of his home. The novel’s climax reveals her existence.
Although Jane Eyre is a British novel, Kwok says that Bertha Mason is central to the story, and readers learn that Mr. Rochester's wealth comes from plantations his family owned in British-colonized Jamaica.
Alongside Jane Eyre, Kwok assigns Wide Sargasso Sea, a novel that reimagines the story from Bertha's perspective. Published in 1966 by Jean Rhys, who was born on the Caribbean island of Dominica, then a British colony, the novel re-centers the story around Bertha's life.
“What I do is put this literature in conversation with works by writers from regions outside Britain, including the formerly colonized Caribbean, so we can develop a more global perspective,” she says. “With Wide Sargasso Sea, it doesn’t cancel Jane Eyre, but it de-centers it and questions its authority, showing us that there are multiple perspectives available for us to think about these issues.”
Kwok says growing up in Hong Kong, a former British colony, sparked her early engagement with British 19th-century literature.
“I wondered why, when I read these books, there would be global issues happening in them, but people didn't really want to talk about them,” she says.
This fall, Kwok's class will explore Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Kwok will be assisted by Josephine Geiger-Lee, a PhD student and graduate research assistant who helped develop the Brontëgram website as a departmental intern.
Along with teaching, Kwok continues her scholarship. She participated in CSSI’s Write on Target program, which provided dedicated time to complete a peer-reviewed journal article and grant proposal.
“Write on Target was an enormously helpful community for me during my first year on the tenure-track in the humanities,” she says. “Its organized structure, dedicated office spaces, and supportive mentorship enabled me to accomplish all of my research publication goals for the semester.”
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