Literatures in Translation (270-0-1)

Topic

Kafka and Nietzsche

Instructors

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

Meeting Info

Parkes Hall 224: Mon, Wed, Fri 11:00AM - 11:50AM

Overview of class

"The superhuman," "the will to power," "the eternal return of the same"—these phrases are often, and quite rightly, associated with the work of Friedrich Nietzsche. For the first part of this class, we will read the principal book in which Nietzsche seeks to communicate his most expansive and deepest thoughts, namely Thus Spake Zarathustra, which begins with the announcement of "the superhuman" and culminates in the teaching of "eternal return." In the second part of the class, we will examine a selection of Kafka's stories, beginning with "In the Penal Colony" and proceeding to a sampling of animal stories, guided by the premise that some of the figures we encounter—ranging from the Old Commandant in the penal colony to an enigmatic mouse who was once the singer for her people—are intimately 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. All readings and discussions are conducted in English.

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.

Evaluation Method

Class participation Paper, final Presentations Writing assignments

Class Materials (Required)

• Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra, trans. Michael Hulse (Notting Hill Editions, 2022). ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1910749258 = 9781910749258 • Franz Kafka, A Hunger Artist and Other Stories, trans. Joyce Crick (Oxford University Press, 2012) ISBN-13: ‎ 9780199600922"

Class Attributes

Ethical and Evaluative Thinking Foundational Disci
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for Comparative Literature students.