Kafka and Nietzsche (236-0-1)
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." All the readings and discussion will be in English; those who are able to read the texts in German will be encouraged to do so.
Learning Objectives
• Acquire a knowledge of the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche and thereby be in a position to reflect on the questions he posed concerning the nature of good and evil, on the one hand, and the relation of power to justice, on the other.
• Become familiar with the work of Franz Kafka, especially his stories that are directly related to the theme of justice, on the one hand, and the nature of animality, on the other.
• Learn how to construct an argument that contributes to the interdisciplinary field of scholarship in which philosophical texts are examined with an eye toward their literary dimensions, while literary texts are read under the optic of philosophical analysis.
Class Materials (Required)
• Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra, trans. Michael Hulse (Notting Hill Editions, 2022). ISBN-13: 978-1910749258
• Franz Kafka, A Hunger Artist and Other Stories, trans. Joyce Crick (Oxford University Press, 2012) ISBN-13: 978-0199600922
Class Attributes
Ethical and Evaluative Thinking Foundational Disci
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Interdisciplinary Distro-rules apply
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Ethics & Values Distro Area
Associated Classes
DIS - Kresge Cent. Hall 2-380 Kaplan: Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM