Major Authors and Texts (312-0-20)

Instructors

Peter D Fenves
847/467-2966
1880 Campus Drive, Kresge 3329
Office Hours: Mon, 12 - 1:30 PM and by appointment

Meeting Info

Fisk Hall 114: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

Almost a hundred years after his untimely death in 1924 Kafka's literary, cultural, and political significance has only ever increased, for his uncanny imaginary continues to speak with renewed urgency to readers across the globe. This seminar is divided into three parts. In the first, we read a series of Kafka's shorter writings, ranging from "The Metamorphosis" to some fragments about a man who, though dead, sails on the rivers of the earth. In the second part, we read three writers who absorbed the exactness of Kafka's imaginary into their own work: Jorge Luis Borges, Ingeborg Bachmann, and J. M. Coetzee. In the final part, we return to Kafka and ask ourselves how we see his writing now that we've encountered these transformative readers. During the first two parts, students write brief responses to each week's reading; at the end of the second part, students submit an abstract of their final essay; the third part is reserved for the process of essay writing.

Registration Requirements

None

Teaching Method

Seminar

Evaluation Method

Class participation, Paper, final, Writing assignments, Final Paper

Class Materials (Required)

All texts other than the following one are available in PDF form on canvas:• J. M. Coetzee, "The Life and Times of Michael K" (Penguin, 1985): ISBN-13: 978-0140074482

Class Attributes

Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area