Cost and Registration Information

Early Registration Price (by February 10): $270
Regular Price (after February 10): $297

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Seminar Description

Franz Kafka’s name has become synonymous with the enormities of civilization in the twentieth century. Through a close reading of Kafka’s unfinished novels, a “trilogy of human solitude,” we shall delve into the historical context and politics at the crossroads of the twentieth century. We will place these texts within the framework of literature’s modernist experimentation, touch upon crisis of identity of modern man, and conclude with an examination of the reemergence of Kafka during the Cold War and his embrace by popular culture. Ten sessions.

Dagmar Herrmann, a long-time instructor at the Newberry, is an award-winning translator and independent scholar who has studied and lived in Prague.

Materials List

Required:

• Franz Kafka. Amerika. Schocken, 1996. ISBN 978-0805210644
• Franz Kafka. The Trial. Schocken, 1999. ISBN 978-0805209990
• Franz Kafka. The Castle. Schocken, 1998. ISBN 978-0805211061

First Readings:

• None

This class is part of the Newberry’s Adult Education Seminars Program. Learn more about our registration procedures.