Bored dandies languishing in opium dens, femmes fatales cracking their whips: The image of fin-de-siècle Europe is often one of décadence, of a sophisticated culture that is dying - albeit beautifully. In Germany, and particularly in Austrian with its crumbling Habsburg Empire, this was certainly important; however, it is but one facet of a much more rich and diverse cultural picture that also included the cult of life (vitalism) and an idea of rejuvenation that drew inspiration from organic forms and found expression in the art of "Jugendstil" (Art Nouveau). Its social equivalent was the "Lebensreform"movement, which promoted ideas like vegetarianism, nudism and a natural, liberal education that would later influence the hippy movement of the 1960s, not least through the novels of Hermann Hesse. It was a call back to nature, away from the polluted cities with their smoking factory chimneys and impoverished masses. At the same time, other artists were exposing these deplorable conditions in the literary and artistic movement of "Naturalismus" and supporting the growing influence of Labor Unions and Socialist Parties. Add to this the fascination with Friedrich Nietzsche's unruly philosophy; Richard Wagner's intoxicating music; the shock of French Impressionism; the lure of Scandinavian culture; the exploration of the unconscious by Sigmund Freud and authors like Arthur Schnitzler and Franz Kafka; the invention of modern dance; the emergence of film and modern means of transportation; the German dominance in the sciences; the cultural competition between Berlin, Munich and Vienna; the beginnings of modernism in architecture and music - and you have the ingredients of a uniquely rich and fascinating epoch that continues to be a cultural inspiration worldwide.
In this course, we will look at this epoch through the lens of short narrative texts, essays, poems and plays. These selected texts exemplify the dominant literary trends, mirror major developments in the other arts, and engage with political and social conflicts. In addition, we will discuss film adaptations of major texts such as Luchino Visconti's take on Thomas Mann's novel Death in Venice from 1912 with music by Gustav Mahler, and films engaging with that period in general (like the cheesy 1955 blockbuster Sissi featuring Romy Schneider as the unhappy Empress Elisabeth of Austria). A special emphasis will be given to the following aspects: 1) concepts of gender, gender relations and sexuality, 2) the struggle between Naturalist and Neo-Romantic/Symbolist visions of modernity, 3) the relation between language, visual culture and the human body.
This course will be conducted in German, though occasional contributions in English are ok. Shorter written homework assignments should be in German; however, the required final paper can be composed either in German or in English (the German version will be shorter and easier).