3.0

credits

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Taught in German. Franz Kafka is regarded as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. To this day, his lucid and subtle prose continues to intrigue literary critics, writers of fiction, and readers with observations that create a fictive world at once strange and familiar, hopelessly tragic and hilariously comical. The related term “kafkaesque” refers to the unique character of a literary universe that is perceived as both eerie and resistant to any classification. In this course, we will analyze texts by Franz Kafka from a variety of perspectives: as investigations into modern institutions and bureaucracy, law, punishment and family structures. Special emphasis will be given to the exploration of Kafka’s poetic practice, i.e. to the material, rhetorical and performative quality of his writing. In addition to reading a selection of Kafka’s prose and analyzing several film adaptations, we will also discuss some influential commentaries on his work and discuss Kafka’s impact on the conceptualization of modernity. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of Kafka’s oeuvre while developing skills in critical analysis and literary close reading.