German Contributions to World Literature (322-0-1)

Topic

Thomas Mann, The Writer in Exile from Fascism

Instructors

Isabel von Holt

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-325: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

Thomas Mann was one of the most important twentieth-century writer not only in Germany but also in the broad expanse of world literature. Though he began his remarkable career as a "non-political man," which actually meant that he was politically conservative, the establishment of the first German democratic state after the First World War and the rise of fascist movements transformed him into a vocal proponent of democratic forms of governance. This, along with the world-wide fame that came in 1928 with the Nobel Prize for Literature, made him into an enemy of the Nazi regime, from which he fled when, in 1933, Hitler seized power. In this class, as we follow Mann's movement from Europe to Los Angeles, where he resided during the Second World War, we ask the following question: what is the art of political exile? The major themes of Mann's earlier work had been the relation between eros, death, and the fate of art in the contemporary world. We will examine how several of the shorter works he wrote in exile reconfigure the connection between mortality, sexuality, gender, the meaning of literature, and the experience of art. We will also consider where we stand today when we read his work in translation. And as part of our class, we will visit a major exhibit that will be held in the University Library "Thomas Mann, Democracy Will Win!" No knowledge of German is required.

Registration Requirements

None - No knowledge of German required.

Class Attributes

Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area