Around 1900 the literary scene in Vienna was highly complex. An especially interesting group of writers was the “Young Vienna”-school, who embraced modern developments like psychoanalysis and dealt with formerly taboo topics like human sexuality. The course will concentrate on these authors.
We will chiefly deal with Arthur Schnitzler, who wrote theater plays and stories. But we will also spend time talking about other writers like Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Karl Kraus – and maybe also about Prague writers like Franz Kafka, if the wish arises. Besides, we will talk about the issues discussed in Vienna around 1900: the ideas of Sigmund Freud, questions of national and sexual identity, antisemitism, the social situation in the Austro-Hungarian Empire before and after the First World War.
Participants will have to read and discuss a few literary texts (which will be provided to the participants in an English translation):
- Arthur Schnitzler: Der Reigen (La Ronde)
- Arthur Schnitzler: Lieutenant Gustl
- Arthur Schnitzler Traumnovelle (Dream Story, which was the literary model for an American film, Stanley Kubrick‘s Eyes Wide Shut in 1999)
Besides, we will watch and discuss Eyes Wide Shut and compare it to Schnitzler’s story.
Requirements: Attendance and participation in class discussion constitute 30%, reading the required literary texts 30% and a written final (essay-type) 40% of the grade.