CET Syllabus of Record

Program: CET Prague Course Title: Introduction to Franz Kafka and his Historical Situation Course Code: PR/CEST 321 Total Hours: 45 Recommended Credits: 3 Primary Discipline / Suggested Cross Listings: Central European Studies / Literature, History Language of Instruction: English Prerequisites/Requirements: Open to all students in fall only

Description The course focuses on Franz Kafka’s short stories and two of his unfinished novels within the context of Prague German literature. Kafka is examined within the framework of the modernist culture of the fin de siècle and early 20th century Vienna, and in relation to contemporary Czech authors and the expressionist and other Avant-garde movements. Using the methodologies of both literary and intellectual historians, the course provides background in the dominant and thought-giving voices on the literature on Kafka – from his contemporaries up to the present day – approaching Kafka’s work as a path towards the understanding of our time, and as a possible “passage into modernity“.

Objectives During this course, students:  Develop basic knowledge about modern Central European culture  Learn to interpret Kafka’s work as both a representation of and departure from its historical and literary context  Gain an overview and basic knowledge of modern literary movements, themes and ideas

Course Requirements The course is designed as a series of guided discussions outlined by brief lecture-based introductions to the assigned readings. Students read approximately 200 pages per week and should come to class prepared to discuss actively. In addition, each student serves as discussion facilitator for one class session and introduces the reading to the class in an oral presentation.

Over the course of the term, students submit 2 short response papers. These are 1 to 2 pages in length and demonstrate the student’s thorough reading of and engagement with the material before the class session.

Students submit a final analytical paper of about 10 pages that focuses on, questions, and examines a specific aspect of the text. Students should include a discussion of relevant reference materials where possible.

Students are expected to abide by CET’s attendance policy.

CET Academic Programs l 1155 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 300 l Washington, DC 20036 www.cetacademicprograms.com l 1.800.225.4262 l [email protected]

CET Syllabus of Record

Methods of Evaluation The final grade is determined as follows: Presentation and responses 30% Participation and weekly reading 10% Response papers (10 % each) 20% Final paper 40%

Primary Texts Course Pack--includes texts by Peter Altenberg, Hermann Broch, Jakub Deml, Gustav Meyrink, Robert Musil, Paul Leppin, Arthur Schnitzler. Franz Kafka: Complete Stories. 1976. Franz Kafka: Contemplation. Prague: Twisted Spoon Press, 1997. Franz Kafka: Amerika. 1962. Franz Kafka: The Trial. 1968. Franz Kafka: A Country Doctor. Prague: Twisted Spoon Press, 1996. Franz Kafka: A Hunger Artist. Prague: Twisted Spoon Press, 1996.

Supplementary Texts Adorno, Theodor Wiesengrund. “Notes On Kafka”, in T. W. A., Prisms, translated by Samuel and Shiery Weber, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1983. Anderson, Mark M. Kafka‘s Clothes: Ornament and Aestheticism in the Habsburg Fin-de-siècle, Oxford University Press, New York, 1994. The Cambridge Companion to Kafka, 2002. Deleuze, Gilles, Guattari, Félix. Chapters 1 – 3 from Kafka: Toward Minor Literature, University Of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1986. Gilman, Sander L. Franz Kafka, the Jewish Patient, Routledge, New York – London, 1995. Kahl, Frederick Robert Franz Kafka, A Representative Man, 1991. Pawel, Ernst. The Nightmare of Reason: A Life of Franz Kafka, 1984. Politzer, Heinz. Franz Kafka. Parable And Paradox, second, revised edition, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1966. Robertson, Ritchie. Kafka: Judaism, Politics and Literature, 1985. Spector, Scott. Prague Territories. National Conflict and Cultural Innovation in Franz Kafka Fin-de-Siècle. Los Angeles-Berkeley-London: The University of California Press, 2000. Benjamin, Walter. “Franz Kafka” and “Some Reflections on Kafka”, in W. B.: Illuminations, Schocken Books, New York, 1969. Johnston, William M: The Austrian Mind – An Intellectual and Social History 1848-1938. University of California Press, 1972.

Outline of Course Content Note: Students cover approximately 1 topic every week.

Topic 1 – Introduction to Course and Kafka Museum

CET Syllabus of Record

Topic 2 – Early Writings Modernity, Alienation, Anxiety

Topic 3 – Prague 1900 Czech, Germans and Jews Struggling with ideology

Topic 4 – Vienna 1900 Modernity and Modern Jewish Identity

Topic 5 – The Change in the Spirit of the Times: 1912 The opening of new perspectives Localization of identity

Topic 6 – A New World? Expulsion from paradise Nature vs. culture

Topic 7 – A City-Machine Individuality and the rule of law

Topic 8 – Inscribing the Other Asymmetry of meaning Bastards, animals and other monsters

Topic 9 – Alternative Modernity in Czech Literature Irony – satire – parody: a grotesque version of modernity

Topic 10 – “Discipline and Punish” and Vienna 1900 Revisited Melancholy of rusting old order and the idea of a “parallel campaign”

Topic 11 – The Performative Self and its Counterparts Towards a new objectivity: Spectators, Performers, the Show and the point of view