Literatures in Translation (270-0-1)

Topic

Kafka and Nietzsche

Instructors

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

Meeting Info

Kresge Cent. Hall 2-380 Kaplan: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 11:50AM

Overview of class

"The superhuman," "the will to power," "the eternal return of the same"—these words and phrases are often, and quite rightly, associated with the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche. For the first part of this class, we will read the principal book in which Nietzsche seeks to develop and communicate how these terms are to be both understood and productively misunderstood, namely Thus Spake Zarathustra. In the second part of the class, we will examine a variety of Kafka's so-called animal stories, guided by the premise that the "animals" in his stories—an ape who learns to talk, a dog who begins to question where dogdom gets its food, etc.—are related to what Nietzsche envisioned under the heading of "the superhuman." This class has been designated for Ethical and Evaluative Thinking Foundational Discipline as well as Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline. Readings and discussion in English.

Class Attributes

Ethical and Evaluative Thinking Foundational Disci
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area

Associated Classes

DIS - Kresge Cent. Hall 2-380 Kaplan: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

DIS - Locy Hall 301: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM