GERST 6150

Jews in German Literature and Culture Since 1945

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2022-2023.

Amidst widespread discussion of Holocaust memory as a globalized phenomenon, this seminar explores Jewish literature written in German since 1945. For these writers and their texts, the historical encounter with National Socialism remains pivotal to diverse aesthetic strategies for representing the complexity of Jewish life in West, East, and unified Germany. Readings by authors such as Ilse Aichinger, Nelly Sachs, Paul Celan, Hans Keilson, Wolfgang Hildesheimer, Peter Weiss, Jurek Becker, Edgar Hilsenrath, Barbara Honigmann, Esther Dischereit, Ruth Klüger, Grete Weil, Maxim Biller, Wladimir Kaminer, Olga Grjasnowa, Sasha Marianna Salzmann, Max Czollek, and others. The course also considers how these literary works and cultural frameworks pertain to transnational cultural studies in memory, diaspora, intersectionality, globalization, and the aesthetics of representation.

When Offered Spring.

Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: Graduate student standing or instructor permission required.

Comments Required readings in German. Class discussions in English. Anchor course.

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