GERM 301T(S) German Studies, 1770-1830 (W)
From Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, whose quintessentially Enlightenment Nathan
der Weise centers around all too familiar religious conflicts, to E.T.A.
Hoffmann, whose "Sandman" formed the centerpiece of Freud's essay on the
uncanny-and not forgetting Goethe's Faust-German literature from
1750-1830 has informed a good deal of 20th-century thinking. This course will
explore this amazing explosion of insight and creativity through the close
reading of some of its most prominent literary and theoretical texts, including
many of the following: Kant, Lessing, Goethe, Novalis, Kleist, Hoffman,
Eichendorff, Günderrode, Brentano, and B. von Arnim. Readings and
discussion will be in German for tutorial pairs who speak German, in English for
those who don't.
Format: tutorial. Requirements: paper or commentary most weeks.
Enrollment limit: 10 (expected: 10). Preference given to students in German and
Comparative literature.
Tutorials to be arranged. NEWMAN