Franz Kafka in Context

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) lived through one of the most turbulent periods in modern history, witnessing a world war, the dissolution of an empire and the foundation of a new nation state. But the early twentieth century was also a time of social progress and aesthetic experimentation. Kafka's novels and short stories reflect their author's keen but critical engagement with the big questions of his time, and yet often Kafka is still cast as a solitary figure with little or no connection to his age. Franz Kafka in Context aims to redress this perception. In thirty-five short, accessible essays, leading international scholars explore Kafka's personal and working life, his reception of art and culture, his engagement with political and social issues, and his ongoing reception and influence. Together they offer a nuanced and historically grounded image of a writer whose work continues to fascinate readers from all backgrounds.

Part I. Life and Work: 1. Family Anthony Northey; 2. Friendship Claudia Nitschke; 3. Women Elizabeth Boa; 4. Work Benno Wagner; 5. Health and illness Johannes Türk; 6. Writing Manfred Engel; 7. Style Ritchie Robertson; Part II. Art and Literature: 8. Literary modernism Judith Ryan; 9. Kafka's reading Ritchie Robertson; 10. Gesture Lucia Ruprecht; 11. Performance and recitation Lothar Müller; 12. Film Silke Horstkotte; 13. Photography J. J. Long; 14. Music Thomas Martinec; 15. Architecture Roger Thiel; Part III. Politics, Culture, History: 16. Prague: history and culture Marek Nekula; 17. Czech language and literature Peter Zusi; 18. The First World War Mark Cornwall; 19. Travel, colonialism and exoticism Matthias Zach; 20. Law Theodore Ziolkowski; 21. Philosophy Ben Morgan; 22. Religion Daniel Weidner; 23. Judaism and Zionism Katja Garloff; 24. Psychology and psychoanalysis Carolin Duttlinger; 25. Gender and sexuality Mark M. Anderson; 26. The city Andrew J. Webber; 27. Childhood, pedagogy and education Katharina Laszlo; 28. Ethnography and anthropology Nicola Gess; Part IV. Reception and Influence: 29. Early critical reception Ruth V. Gross; 30. Critical theory Anthony Phelan; 31. Deconstruction Stanley Corngold; 32. Reading Kafka Emily Troscianko; 33. Editions Clayton Koelb; 34. Translation Mark Harman; 35. Film adaptations Dora Osborne.

Carolin Duttlinger is Associate Professor in German at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of Wadham College and Co-Director of the Oxford Kafka Research Centre. An international expert on German modernism, she has been awarded numerous prizes and fellowships, including the Zvi-Meitar/Vice-Chancellor Oxford University Research Prize in the Humanities. She is the author of Kafka and Photography (2007) and The Cambridge Introduction to Franz Kafka (Cambridge, 2013), the co-editor of Walter Benjamins anthropologisches Denken (2012) and the editor of Franz Kafkas 'Betrachtung': Neue Lektüren (2014).