Kafka

fall 2024 seminars for students at
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Arguably the most influential writer of the twentieth century, Franz Kafka died 100 years ago this year. Readers and Kafkalogists around the world are celebrating his literary and cultural influence this year, and we will too.

I’ve read and taught Kafka’s works with students at Davidson since 1990. Now that you are in this course, welcome to our common project: a new comprehensive study of Kafka’s works and influence.

For Davidson College students, we will undertake a thorough primary text-focused survey of Kafka’s major works, including selections from the diaries and the letters. You will write a substantial research paper on a closely-defined topic of your choosing. At the end of semester we will work together to present your work to the public at a fancy and formal literary soirée we’ll call Kafkania, open to the public, but especially directed at your reading partners for the semester, the students in the parallel DavidsonLearns seminar I’m teaching. These readers will be the best audience for your presentations.

Davidson College students in German Studies will read, discuss, and write some in German. There will be an extra session each week in German for majors, minors, and anyone else who wants to do Kafka on his terms, in his German.

For DavidsonLearns students, welcome to the course! The course is fully enrolled as of 10 June 20204. For those who have gotten a spot in the course, please head over to Main Street Books in Davidson soon, get the editions we’ll be using and dive right in. See the link below for the books to purchase and how to plan and sequence your summer reading. Then in the fall we will be, for the most part, re-reading. Which is what one does with Kafka. We’ll meet together with my Davidson College students a few times during the semester, and then for the final event, Kafkania, a fancy literary soirée at the beginning of December. The college students will present their work and I can imagine, if the past is any predictor, there might also be some kind of creative, performative Kafka project. We shall see.

I introduce the books in this little five-minute video. (High-resolution version here.)