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One of the most interesting developments in Kafka scholarship of the last decade has been the impulse to contextualize his work, to demonstrate its connections to the literary and cultural environment from which it sprang. In this course, we will investigate critically what might be called the Jewish subtext of Kafka's work. While due attention will be given to studies that have emphasized analogies between his work and that of the Kabbalah and other Jewish mystical traditions, we will also consi der the startling evidence in his work of an attempted synthesis of Jewish and Christian traditions. A focus of the course will in fact be Kafka's interest in the figure of Jesus, who was, after all, not only the Christian messiah but also a bachelor, a storyteller, and a Jew in crisis. The basic texts will comprise two of the three major novels, several stories, including those that may be read as artist narratives, and the diaries and letters.
Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA GERM Grading Mode: Student Option
Prerequisites: NONE
Last Updated on MAR-26-2001
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459