Prague territories : national conflict and cultural innovation in Franz Kafka's fin de siècle

Scott Spector's adventurous cultural history maps for the first time the "territories" carved out by German-Jewish intellectuals living in Prague at the dawn of the twentieth century. Spector explores the social, cultural, and ideological contexts in which Franz Kafka and his contemporaries flourished, revealing previously unseen relationships between politics and culture. His incisive readings of a broad array of German writers feature the work of Kafka and the so-called "Prague circle" and encompass journalism, political theory, Zionism, and translation as well as literary program and practice.With the collapse of German-liberal cultural and political power in the late-nineteenth-century Habsburg Empire, Prague's bourgeois Jews found themselves squeezed between a growing Czech national movement on the one hand and a racial rather than cultural conception of Germanness on the other. Displaced from the central social and cultural position they had come to occupy, the members of the "postliberal" Kafka generation were dazzlingly productive and original, far out of proportion to their numbers. Seeking a relationship between ideological crisis and cultural innovation, Spector observes the emergence of new forms of territoriality.He identifies three fundamental areas of cultural inventiveness related to this Prague circle's political and cultural dilemma. One was Expressionism, a revolt against all limits and boundaries, the second was a spiritual form of Zionism incorporating a novel approach to Jewish identity that seems to have been at odds with the pragmatic establishment of a Jewish state, and the third was a sort of cultural no-man's-land in which translation and mediation took the place of "territory." Spector's investigation of these areas shows that the intensely particular, idiosyncratic experience of German-speaking Jews in Prague allows access to much broader and more general conditions of modernity. Combining theoretical sophistication with a refreshingly original and readable style, Prague Territories illuminates some early signs of a contemporary crisis from which we have not yet emerged. Scott Spector's Cultural History Maps For The First Time The Territories Carved Out By German-jewish Intellectuals Living In Prague At The Dawn Of The Twentieth Century. Spector Explores The Social, Cultural, And Ideological Contexts In Which Franz Kafka And His Contemporaries Flourished, Revealing Previously Unseen Relationships Between Politics And Culture. His Readings Of A Broad Array Of German Writers Feature The Work Of Kafka And The So-called Prague Circle And Encompass Journalism, Political Theory, Zionism, And Translation As Well As Literary Program And Practice.--book Jacket. 1. Prague Circles : Backgrounds And Methods -- 2. Where's The Difference? : Culture, Ideology, And The Aesthetics Of Nationality -- 3. The Territory Of Language : From Art To Politics -- 4. Encircling Humanity : Expressionist Universalism And Revolution -- 5. Circumscribing Spiritual Territory : Inside Prague's Cultural Zionism -- 6. New Orientations : Judaism, Desire, And The Gaze Eastward -- 7. Middle Ground : Translation, Mediation, Correspondence -- Conclusion. Middle Europe. Scott Spector. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 241-317) And Index. Preliminaries......Page 5 Preface......Page 11 1. Prague Circles: Backgrounds and Methods......Page 17 2. Where's the Difference?......Page 52 3. The Territory of Language......Page 84 4. Encircling Humanity: Expressionist Universalism and Revolution......Page 109 5. Circumscribing Spiritual Territory......Page 151 6. New Orientations......Page 176 7. Middle Ground: Translation, Mediation......Page 211 Conclusion......Page 250 Notes......Page 257 Bibliography......Page 307 Index......Page 335 This cultural history maps the 'territories' carved out by German-Jewish artists and intellectuals living in Prague at the dawn of the 20th century. It explores the social, cultural, and ideological contexts in which Franz Kafka and his contemporaries flourished