LT 281 - Vienna 1900: Literature in the Modern Metropolis

This course introduces students to the broad range of literature in Vienna around 1900. By addressing a number of key places in the modern metropolis, such as the bustling coffee-house, Freud’s couch, and the opera stage, students will explore how literary forms emerged out of specific historical constellations and created Viennese fin-de-siècle culture. Texts by Schnitzler, Hofmannsthal, and Kraus are complemented by less canonical texts that report on living conditions of the poor, or reach their audience in popular cabaret venues. Thus, Vienna’s “Golden Age” will also be considered as battle zone where significant social and aesthetic stances of the 20th century begin to take shape. Finally, this course offers a look at the legacy of “Vienna 1900” in the United States.