GERM 260 - Developments in German Literature

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

Topic for 2020/21b: Kafka: 20th-Century Mensch. Franz Kafka (1883-1924) might be the most famous writer of the 20th century, yet very little of his work was published during his lifetime. In fact, Kafka stipulated that his writings be destroyed upon his death, and it is only because Max Brod became his literary executor that his works survive for us today. Kafka’s short stories and novels have now been translated into every modern language that currently prints literature, and his name is so famous that it’s inspired its own adjective: Kafkaesque. Though Kafka’s prose is often less dense and convoluted than many of his contemporaries, his works have the near-magical ability to become more complex and enigmatic the more you read them. Nevertheless, by examining some of his most famous stories as well as his least well-known pieces, along with a sampling of the work that influenced him, it is possible to get inside his world and develop a deep understanding of the unique intricacies of the Kafkaesque. Rebecca Schuman.

Prerequisite(s): GERM 230 or 240, or permission of the instructor.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS