Challenges to the Self, Society and the Sacred: German Prose Masterpieces

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

German literature, which is deeply interwoven with philosophy and religion, offers abundant challenges to our understanding of self, society, and the sacred. Together we will analyze prose works that offer students a range of genres and styles. Three or four works will be chosen from among the following: Hölderlin’s Hyperion, a novel of despair and reconciliation that is both lyrical and philosophical; Heine’s brilliant and witty essay Zur Geschichte der Religion und Philosophie in Deutschland; Büchner’s absorbing novella fragment Lenz; Stifter’s gripping and perplexing tale Abdias; Storm’s dramatically compelling frame narrative Der Schimmelreiter; Theodore Fontane’s Effi Briest, a beautiful novel of character that indirectly confronts the social norms of late nineteenth-century Prussia; and Kafka’s Der Prozess, a work that interweaves comedy, horror, and complexity. We will spend considerable time on literary aspects of the works and will engage in comparison and contrast of diverse themes, including identity crises, concepts of social critique and historical change, and challenges to our understanding of God.