The Past is Our Present Problem: Post-1945 German Literature and Culture
GRST 277
Spring 2025 not offered
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The quarter century following Germany's unconditional surrender in 1945 saw a continued struggle between a desire to move on and rebuild a society and culture in ruins on the one hand, and efforts to own up to--and learn from--Germany's recent Nazi past on the other. Literature, in particular, became one of the driving forces trying to understand how the Third Reich was possible, what happened to the remnants of Nazi ideology in the new Germanies, and what avenues forward there were for a language and literature so thoroughly complicit in the horrors of genocide and Holocaust.
In this course, we will explore how writers (re)configure, but also ignore, questions of personal and national identity, the function of language, the role of tradition, individual agency and social norms, or gender roles. With a main focus on West Germany, we will read some of the most important works of the time, ranging from so-called "rubble literature" of the immediate post-war years (Wolfdietrich Schnurre, Wolfgang Borchert) to texts trying to find ways to confront questions of guilt and responsibility (Günther Grass, Heinrich Böll) and to more radical attempts to reconfigure what literary art in German is able and obligated to say (Paul Celan, Peter Weiss). To complement the focus on West Germany, we will also read select texts from the other German-speaking countries: Austria (Thomas Bernhard, Ingeborg Bachmann), Switzerland (Max Frisch), and East Germany (Christa Wolf). In addition to close readings, we will engage with larger questions and cultural movements of the time, from debates between authors who left Nazi Germany and those who stayed, to the Gruppe 47 (Group 47) and its attempt to change the literary landscape between 1947 and 1967, to the increased politicization of literature and resurgence of debates of Nazism's staying power surrounding the social movements of the late 1960s. We will combine our readings with looks at historically significant moments such as the founding of two German states, the so-called economic miracle in West Germany, the conservative "restoration" efforts under chancellor Adenauer, or the election to the chancellorship of Kiesinger, a former Nazi bureaucrat with the Propaganda Ministry. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA GRST |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Major Requirement for: None |
Major Readings:
: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Wolfgang Borchert, The Man Outside
Günter Grass, Cat and Mouse
Max Frisch, The Arsonists
Paul Celan, Meridian; Select Poems
Christa Wolf, The Quest for Christa T.
Works and Excerpts by Wolfdietrich Schnurre, Peter Weiss, Ingeborg Bachmann
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Examinations and Assignments:
Reading Journals, Discussion Moderation, Presentation, 3 Papers
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
No Additional Comments |
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