Book talk with Carolin Duttlinger, Director of the Oxford Kafka Research Centre
Franz Kafka, who represents modernist literature and is often referred to as a 'writer’s writer,' has long been consumed primarily through the fragmented image of a gloomy and isolated genius. The globally recognized term 'Kafkaesque' reflects his influence that transcends borders and fields, but at the same time, this term can come across as a hollow echo to us, as it is frequently used as a symbol of incomprehensibility.
However, his texts are actually much more fascinating, diverse, cheerful, and ironic than the cliché of the 'Kafkaesque' suggests. Thus, in her book “Cambridge Introduction to Kafka”, Professor Carolin Duttlinger, Director of the Oxford Kafka Research Centre, not only presents a chronological account of Kafka's life but also explores the various facets and integrated perspectives of Kafka's texts by paying attention to the margins of his works—such as omissions, revisions, alternative forms, fragments, and discarded drafts that have not been translated into English.
To mark the 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka's death, “Cambridge Introduction to Kafka” has been translated into Korean. Its author, Carolin Duttlinger, will visit the library of the Goethe-Institut Korea on Tuesday, September 3rd, at 7 PM to discuss her work and various aspects of Kafka.
*Participation in this event is limited, so advance registration is necessary:
Registration Form
• Speaker: Carolin Duttlinger
Carolin Duttlinger holds the position of Professor of German at the University of Oxford and serves as a Senior Research Fellow in German Studies at Wadham College. Since 2009, she has been a co-director of the Oxford Kafka Research Centre. She is the author of “Kafka and Photography”(2007) and, in collaboration with Ben Morgan and Anthony Phelan, co-edited “Walter Benjamin’s Anthropological Thinking” (2012).
• Moderator: Lee Ha-neul (Translator of “Cambridge Introduction to Kafka”)
Lee Ha-neul studied Political Science, German Studies, and Korean Literature at Yonsei University. She completed her Master’s degree in German Studies at the Yonsei University and earned her Ph.D. at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg in Germany as a government-sponsored student. After conducting research as an academic visitor at the University of Oxford and the Oxford Kafka Research Centre, she taught at the University of Potsdam in Germany. She is currently a lecturer at Yonsei University. Her major publication includes “Die Bildwelt in Walter Benjamins Kafka-Lektüre” (The Image-World in Walter Benjamin's Reading of Kafka, Wilhelm Fink, 2023).
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