CSP 7 Kafka: Law -- Literature -- Power

This course will explore the writings of one of the seminal theorists of power in modernity: Franz Kafka. We will read and discuss Kafka's descriptions of the modern institutions and apparatuses of power, ranging from the family and the legal systems, to forms of bodily discipline as well as the relations between humans, animals, and machines. Throughout the semester we will consider to what extent Kafka's literary works -- including, among other texts, "The Trial," "The Castle," and "The Metamorphosis" -- not only depict different kinds of power relations, but also articulate their own theory of power with respect to the complex structures and opaque processes -- as well as the terrifying perversions -- of modern bureaucratic society.