Video And Podcast Resources On Franz Kafka's Works
ten lectures on three of Kafka's shorter works
Franz Kafka is one of the author whose work I encountered first in high school, as I think many people do, by being assigned his most often discussed work, The Metamorphosis. Perhaps my teachers weren’t all that good, or quite possibly I was inattentive in my classes, but it didn’t make much of an impression upon me at that time.
Later on in college, where I was studying philosophy and mathematics, as well as taking quite a few literature and history classes, I encountered that story again, and read it with new eyes. That got me started on reading everything by Kafka I could get my hands upon, consuming his short stories and two of his novels, The Trial and The Castle. I found his work thought provoking, or better yet, evocative of musings, emotional effects, interpretations, and lines of reasoning. I’ve indulged myself in rereadings many times in the decades since. I’ve also enjoyed reading what other writers whose thought I respect, for example Jorge Luis Borges, did with Kafka’s ideas and narratives.
Later on down the line when I began teaching college courses, particularly when I got to teach classes on Existentialism, I revisted his works with a different intention in mind, introducing students to his works, and explaining the key themes, characters, plot points, and ideas contained within them. Eventually, I produced a set of videos and corresponding podcast episodes on a few of those works for my own students and for a wider audience of students and lifelong learners elsewhere.
I hope to add more of these, covering additional short stories, and perhaps even the whole of his novel The Trial, later on down the line. For the moment, I have ten lectures on three of his works to offer those who would like to watch or listen to them. Here they are:
The Metamorphosis
Gregor Samsa's Transformation | watch video | listen to podcast
The Samsa Family's Circumstances | watch video | listen to podcast
Gregor's Sister Grete | watch video | listen to podcast
Gregor's Mother And Father | watch video | listen to podcast
The Cook, Servant Girl, Lodgers, And Charwoman | watch video | listen to podcast
Modes Of Alienation In The Narrative | watch video | listen to podcast
In The Penal Colony
Justice In The Penal Colony | watch video | listen to podcast
The Machine As Inscribing Justice | watch video | listen to podcast
The Explorer's Verdict | watch video | listen to podcast
On Parables
Making Sense Of Parables and Meta-Parables | watch video | listen to podcast
If I do end up producing more video and podcast lectures, I’ll make sure to add them here (and tell readers in a Note that I’ve updated the page with additional entries). Until then, there they are. Ten lectures in both formats that will hopefully help you get the most out of reading these works!