Hermann Hesse
GERM 2778/3778
© Hardy Cole
Hermann Hesse Today / Hermann Hesse Heute An international conference at the Institute of Germanic Studies, London 27 - 29 November 2002
Objectives
Course decription
"The difference between Marx and me? Apart from his much larger dimension, Marx thinks in terms of the masses, I in terms of the individual."
Hermann Hesse, arguably the best-known German writer outside Germany, has always put the trials and struggles of the individual to make sense of his/her life first. He followed this quest for the self through all states of the psyche, through the excesses of despair, doubt, rebellion and lust. His prose (and poetry) is romantic yet unsentimental, experimental yet poetic, exotic yet familiar. His distinctive blend of creativity and contemplation is infused with the warm glow of serenity.
This seminar course, taught and examined entirely in German, will start out with a general introduction to the German writer Hermann Hesse, the reception of his oeuvre at different times, and the main themes he addresses.
Three representative novels will be discussed in detail:
Unterm Rad (1906), which brought Hesse wide recognition and influenced especially the young generation;
Der Steppenwolf (1927), an exploration of the problems of existence, which won Hesse international acclaim; and
Das Glasperlenspiel (1943), Hesse's utopian magnum opus and response to the barbarism of fascism, which has recently found cult-status on the Internet.
N.B. Das Glasperlenspiel contains a number of Hesse's poems, which will be studied in their own right.
Students will explore the extensive secondary literature [mostly in BL Main 1 German M-26 HES], but emphasis will be placed on a close reading of the texts. Students will also explore the significant resources on and lively debates about Hermann Hesse on the Internet.
Prescribed texts:
Hermann Hesse, Unterm Rad, Suhrkamp Basis Bibliothek 34
Hermann Hesse, Der Steppenwolf, Suhrkamp Basis Bibliothek 12
Hermann Hesse, Das Glasperlenspiel, suhrkamp taschenbuch 79
N.B. Two of the texts should be read before the beginning of the semester.
Programme (a detailed programme will be handed out in Wk 1)
Wk 1 Einführung in Leben und Werk
Wk 2 Unterm Rad
Wk 3 Unterm Rad
Wk 4 Exkurs: Demian
Wk 5 Der Steppenwolf
Wk 6 Der Steppenwolf
Wk 7 Der Steppenwolf
Wk 8 Das Glasperlenspiel
Wk 9 Das Glasperlenspiel
Wk 10 Das Glasperlenspiel
Wk 11 abschließende Diskussion, Feedback, Exam prep.
Teaching and Assessment
weekly prescribed reading and short presentations
1 x 2-hour written exam in German at the end of Semester 2.
click here for past exam papers
Online Resources
(please remember these are additional resources and cannot replace work in the library , which has an excellent collection of works by and on Hermann Hesse, mostly in BL Main 1 German M-26 HES)
Überblick
DIE WELT takes note of our conference...
biographical and bibliographical information
A new edition of Hermann Hesse's works
liebevoll gepflegt von Prof Günter Gottschalk
eine Fanseite, sehr vielversprechend
Hugo Ball: Hermann Hesse (1927)
eine frühe Biographie, online
a short summary of Hesse's life in English
Hermann Hesse: Novelist, Poet, Painter
eine Ausstellung des Oglethorpe University Museum
Internet Ausstellung von Radio Bremen
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1946
Prize Presentation, Acceptance Speech, Other Resources
Hermann Hesse and his native town
by Buchhandlung Fuchs, Calw
Im Nebel (wav file)
read by Hermann Hesse
Unterm Rad
Entry in Kindlers neues Literaturlexikon
by Günther Baumann
Einige Überlegungen zu Hans Giebenraths Tod
von Marianne Kaindl
Demian
A summary of Hermann Hesse's Demian
by Kathryn Byrnes (you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader for this)
Hesse's Demian as a Christian Morality Play
by Stephen K. Roney (you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader for this)
Hegel and Feuerbach as Comparative Tools for Understanding Hermann Hesse's Demian
by Michael James Mahin (you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader for this)
Der Steppenwolf
aus Kindlers neues Literaturlexikon
Hermann Hesses Nationalsozialismustheorie in 'Der Steppenwolf'
von Franz Wegener, M.A.
Dekonstruktion von Hermann Hesses "Der Steppenwolf"
von Eva-Maria Stuckel
by Craig Bernard Palmer (you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader for this)
Der Steppenwolf und die moderne Psychologie
by Reinhard Munzert (you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader for this)
Das Glasperlenspiel
Beads and Bytes. Das Glasperlenspiel, das Weltwissen und das Internet
by Günter Gottschalk (you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader for this)
by Inn-Ung Lee (you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader for this)
Hermann Hesse und das Engagement
by Adolf Muschg
A Glass Bead Game played on the Web
by OmegaGBG
by Dunbar Aitkens
Essays
translated by Ralf Manheim (you need the Adobe Acrobat Reader for this)
Hermann Hesse als Streitobjekt
Hesse und die heutige Germanistik in Deutschland
by Klaus-Peter Philippi, Tübingen
Zur Hermann Hesse Rezeption in Deutschland
by Volker Michels, Frankfurt
this page is under construction
comments to Dr Ingo Cornils
last updated on 10/02/04