| CODE | GRM3026 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Ausgewählte literarische Texte: Franz Kafka und Heinrich Böll | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | German | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Der Kurs ist zweigeteilt. Im ersten Teil des Kurses werden sich die Teilnehmer mit verschiedenen kürzeren Texten Franz Kafkas (z. B. "Kleine Fabel", "Gibs auf!", "Heimkehr", "Eine kaiserliche Botschaft") sowie mit dem wichtigen Text "Das Urteil" sowohl sprachlich als auch literaturwissenschaftlich eingehend auseinandersetzen. Dabei wird vor allem die parabolische Struktur der Texte und die oft grotesk-absurde Atmosphäre ihrer Inhalte, für die sich mit "kafkaesk" ein eigenes Wort eingebürgert hat, im Vordergrund stehen. Es wird dabei auch auf andere Werke Kafkas Bezug genommen, speziell auf seinen "Brief an den Vater" und auf den Roman "Die Verwandlung". Im zweiten Teil des Kurses stehen Kurzgeschichten, Erzählungen und Satiren von Heinrich Böll im Zentrum. Beispiele werden den drei Hauptetappen seiner literarischen Entwicklung entnommen: Zunächst werden Texte aus den Kriegsjahren und den Jahren unmittelbar nach dem Krieg besprochen, Darauf folgen Beispiele seiner Werke aus der Zeit, in der das Leben in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland durch politische Stabilität und wirtschaftliche Erfolge (aber auch durch Leistungsdrang und -zwang! gekennzeichnet war. Zum Schluß geht es um die Zeit nach dem Wirtschaftswunder – die deutsche ‚Wohlstandsgesellschaft’. Sowohl die Sprache/der Stil als auch die Inhalte der Werke des Nobelpreisträgers von 1972 werden ausführlich besprochen. This study-unit is divided in two parts. In the first part some of Franz Kafka’s parabolic texts (e.g. “Kleine Fabel”, “Gibs auf!!”, “Heimkehr”, “Eine kaiserliche Botschaft”) and his important narrative “Das Urteil” will be examined both from a linguistic and a literary point of view. The study unit will focus on the parabolic structure of Kafka's texts and the grotesque-absurd atmosphere of the contents, which is described by a new term: "kafkaesque". Reference will be made to other works by Kafka, particularly to his “Brief an den Vater” and the novel "Die Verwandlung". In the second part of the study-unit short stories, narratives and satires of Heinrich Böll will be discussed. Examples will be taken from the three main phases of his literary development. Starting with texts from the years during the war and immediately after the war, examples of works from the time during which the life in the Federal Republic of Germany was marked by political stability and economic success (but also by performance drive and performance pressure) will be examined thereafter. Finally Böll's work during the time after the “Wirtschaftswunder”, namely the German “affluent society - economic miracle” will be taken into consideration. Language and style as well as the contents of the works by the Nobel Prize Winner of 1972 will be discussed thoroughly. Study-unit Aims This study-unit aims at enhancing participants' comprehension of German literature in order to understand the mentality and cultural memory of the German speaking world by focussing on the literary work of one of the most influencing German language writers before 1933, Franz Kafka, and of one of the most important writers of the time after 1945, Heinrich Böll; it also aims to give awareness of the importance of Jewry for the work of Kafka and of the idea of political contribution of authors in the work and life of Böll. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - know the most important facts on Franz Kafka and Heinrich Böll; - know about facts and figures in the mentality and cultural memory of the German-Jewish community in the Austrian-Hungarian empire and of the post war society in the Federal Republic of Germany. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - analyze, assess and classify literary and philosophical texts in German; - relate literary and philosophical ideas to historical developments; - master a longer written study on German literature. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings Part 1 (Franz Kafka) Peter Höfle (ed.) (1994) : "Franz Kafka. Das Urteil und andere Erzählungen". Stuttgart: Reclam Raabe, Paul (ed.) (1994): "Franz Kafka. Sämtliche Erzählungen". Frankfurt am Main: Fischer TB (ISBN: 386647170X) Josipovici, Gabriel (ed.) (1993): "Franz Kafka. Collected stories". Everyman's Library. Politzer, Heinz (ed.) (1991): "Das Kafka Buch - eine innere Biographie in Selbstzeugnissen". Frankfurt am Main: Fischer TB. Robertson, Ritchie (1987): " Kafka : Judaism, politics, and literature". Clarendon. Carsten Schlingmann (1995): "Franz Kafka. Literaturwissen". Stuttgart: Reclam. (ISBN: 3150152046) The students will be provided with up to date material during the course. Part 2 (Heinrich Böll) Michael Butler (ed.) (1994): The narrative fiction of Heinrich Böll: Social conscience and literary achievement. Cambridge Bernhard Sowinski (1993): Heinrich Böll. Metzler Enid Macpherson (1972): A student’s guide to Böll. Heinemann Educational. Johannes Wilhelm (1967): Heinrich Böll, teller of tales: A study of his works and characters. Imprint Ungar Hans Scheurer (ed.) (1994): Heinrich Böll: Bilder eines Lebens. Imprint Kiepenheuer & Witsch The students will be provided with up to date material during the course. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisites: Current or former participation in an introductory course on German Literary Studies/ Literature. | |||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | |||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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