Modernity and Geschlecht I

Modernity and Geschlecht I will explore configurations of Modernity and Geschlecht focusing on the rich connotations of the German term Geschlecht--sex, the feminine, species, descent, blood, family, race.

Course description

We will chart the landscapes of Geschlecht and relating them to the problems of modernity in series of constellations such as Nietzsche, Andreas-Salome on renaming the human, Simmel, Adorno/Horkeimer on the utopian feminine, Freud, Weininger, Andreas-Salome on masochism and narcissism, Kirchner, Nolde, Benn, Lasker-Schueler on primitivism/racism, Dix and Grosz on the Great War and Lustmord, Benjamin, Kracauer, Ch. Wolff on flanerie and the public space.

Books and chapters

Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil," "Genealogy of Morals; Andreas-Salome, Nietzsche; selected essays, "Fenitschka and Deviation;" Simmel, selected essays, Adorno/Horkeimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment; Freud, selected essays, Weininger, Sex and Character, Benn, Ronne stories, poetry, Lasker-Schuler, poetry, Hebrew ballads, Benjamin, Baudelaire, Arcade Project, Kracauer, "Mass Ornament," Wolff, "Hindsight;" selected drawings and paintings by Kirchner, Nolde, Dix and Grosz.

Format

The course will be conducted as a seminar. Required work, participation, oral presentations and one substantial final paper.