Franz Kafka & the Aesthetics of Jazz in Prague Modernism

A seminar by Dr Veronika Jicinska (UJEP Ústí n.L., CZ) as a part of School of Language, Literatures and Cultural Studies Seminar Series (SLLCS).

The transcultural character of jazz music with its claim to a modern way of life liberated from social conventions was particularly well received in European cities in the first decades of the 20th century. The special impact and popularity of this music in Europe derived from a favourable cultural-historical moment of meeting both African American and European musical traditions and aesthetic practices. Against the backdrop of the Prague dance scene, references to early jazz are contextualized in contemporary aesthetic discourses and in Franz Kafka’s early texts.
Dr Jičínská is an Assistant Professor in German and a translator. She studied German and English/American Studies in Prague, Berlin, New York and Constance (Germany). After completing her doctorate at Charles University in Prague in 2007, she shortly worked as a lecturer at The Johns Hopkins University and since 2013, has been working at Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem (Czech Republic). Her areas of expertise include 19th and 20th century German and Austrian literatures, German literature from the Czech Lands, minoritarian literatures and translation theory.

More info: Dr Clemens Ruthner, ruthnerc@tcd.ie

The School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies Seminar Series (SLLCS) promotes Literary and Cultural Studies, including political and social thought, narratology and imagology, film, textual and visual studies, questions surrounding language learning and translation studies, and also practice-led research. We encourage comparative, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, as our intellectual inquiry is in the service of national and international debate and knowledge advancement, particularly on the construction of identity and otherness in literature and culture. The seminar series provides a forum for the dissemination and exchange of current and developing research from staff and postgraduate researchers within the school, and also from national and international guest speakers.

Please indicate if you have any access requirements, such as ISL/English interpreting, so that we can facilitate you in attending this event. Contact: hanrahaj@tcd.ie