German Literature and Culture, 1914 to the Present

3 units

In this course, we will explore the horror genre and its variations in the context of 20th-century and contemporary German (language) literature and film. We will examine figures and tropes popular in the horror genre, such as the golem, the vampire, the shapeshifter, and the serial killer, and discuss various subgenres of horror, from the kafkaesque uncanny to contemporary bloodsuckers as metaphors of capital. Questions we will address throughout the semester include: What is horror, and how does it work? What constitutes the specifically “modern” character of 20th-century horrors? How does the horror genre process socially relevant issues such as economic crises, war, migration, race and racial discrimination, and gender (inequality)? Authors and directors we will discuss include E.T.A. Hoffmann, Franz Kafka, Gustav Meyrink, Robert Wiene, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Werner Herzog, Elfriede Jelinek, Ulrich Seidl, Michael Haneke, Barbi Marković, and Julian Radlmaier. By the end of this semester, students will have acquired a deep understanding of 20th- and 21st-century German and Austrian history and culture. They will have enhanced their proficiency in German writing, speaking, listening, and reading. All readings, assignments, and discussions will be conducted in German. This course is open to first-year graduate students.