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Organization, Regulations, and Courses 2024-25


JWST 20.01 German-Jewish Exile Literature (in English)

The rise of fascism in Europe resulted in the displacement of countless Central-European Jews, who sought refuge in France, Switzerland, Sweden, Istanbul, Palestine, and above all in the United States. This course explores how German-Jewish writers, artists, and intellectuals responded to the condition of exile during the period of National Socialism and its aftermath. These writers constituted what Erika and Klaus Mann called “The Other Germany” by carrying forward the avant-garde possibilities of Weimar culture and offering political resistance to the Nazi regime from outside of Germany. Yet they were also confronted with the challenges of exile, including homelessness, alienation, and the struggle to form communities, along with painful questions about their own German identity and their relationship to the German language.

Examining works by Arendt, Mann, Brecht, Benjamin, Auerbach, Kracauer, Lasker-Schüler, Seghers, Sachs, Celan, Adorno, Werfel, Zinnemann, Lorre, and Schoenberg, the course will address key topics raised by the German-Jewish experience of exile, including nostalgia, loss, antisemitism, the corruption of the German language by National Socialism, bilingualism, the political significance of the refugee experience and resistance to fascism, the complex image of America in the works of German-Jewish refugees, and the religious meanings of exile.

Instructor

McGillen

Cross Listed Courses

GERM 42.14

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:INT or LIT; WCult:CI

The Timetable of Class Meetings contains the most up-to-date information about a course. It includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in this ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.

Offered

  • Summer