82-422 German Literature of the Early Twentieth Century

9 units, Carnegie Mellon University

From its inception in 1871, The Second German Empire promised to be an industrial, cultural and military powerhouse on the continent of Europe. But when the hand of the Iron Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, was removed from the helm by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1890, the New Germany charted a course that would lead to a catastrophic conflict with its neighbors to the west England and France and to the east Russia. This course exams works by some of the major authors of this period Mann, Wedekind, Hauptmann, Rilke, Kafka as well as modern film adaptations of their works. Readings will also include seminal thinkers such as Nietzsche, Freud, Marx and Einstein. In addition, the course will employ the visual arts through a survey of the German Expressionists. The purpose of this course is to examine a wide variety of cultural artifacts against the backdrop of the political, social, and economic currents of the period.

Prerequisites: 82-325

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