Ambiguous by Design: Franz Kafka

Description

Ambiguous by Design: Franz Kafka

Gregor Samsa awoke one morning to find himself transformed… but into what exactly? A cockroach? A dung beetle? The term Kafka used in “The Metamorphosis,” “vermin” (Ungeziefer), was much more ambiguous than his translators would have liked. Yet such ambiguity is a trademark of Kafka’s aesthetic—one that frustrates literalists and lends a nightmarish quality to the storytelling. Paying close attention to Kafka’s rhetoric of ambiguity, we’ll tackle The Trial and the short stories “The Metamorphosis,” “In the Penal Colony,” “Before the Law” and “A Hunger Artist.” Let’s try to comprehend how these narratives achieve meaning, despite their lack of specificity. Students will need to purchase The Trial (Schocken, 1999) and The Complete Stories (Schocken, 1995).

Instructor: Jeff Encke
Where: Richard Hugo House
Meets: Saturday, July 12, 2008 - Saturday, August 02, 2008 (4 sessions)
Saturdays , 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Min: 5 Max: 15

Register here: http://www.hugohouseservices.org/home/Catalog/Catalog.aspx

About the Instructor

Jeff Encke taught writing and literature at Columbia University for several years, serving as writer-in-residence for the Program in Narrative Medicine while completing his Ph.D. in English in 2002. His criticism has appeared in Post-War Literatures in English, The Journal of American Studies, and A Companion to 20th Century American Poetry, as well as on the Academy of American Poets Web site (Poets.org). Barrow Street, Bat City Review, Black Warrior Review, Colorado Review, Fence, Octopus, Salt Hill, Tarpaulin Sky, and others have published his poetry. For more information, visit his Website: www.matlub.net.

Schedule

This class was last taught July 12, 2008 to August 02, 2008

• Sat 10:00a.m.-12:00p.m.

Pricing Details

$145.00
$130.50 for members of Hugo House

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