Modern Literature

4 credits · Undergraduate

Introduction to philosophical, ideological, and aesthetic trends from the turn of the 20th century. Some of the most influential and thought-provoking literary works of the wider 20th century will be among our readings, including texts Sigmund Freud, Rainer Maria Rilke, Franz Kafka, Else Lasker-Schüler, Thomas Mann, Anna Seghers, Paul Celan, and others. In light of these texts, we will explore questions of modernist style, gender and desire, and the events and consequences of National Socialism. Readings in German. Lectures in German and English. Discussions and course work in English and/or German.