University under suspicion. On the margins of Report for the Academy by Franz Kafka Cover Image

Uniwersytet w stanie podejrzenia. Na marginesie Sprawozdania dla Akademii Franza Kafki
University under suspicion. On the margins of Report for the Academy by Franz Kafka

Author(s): Mariusz Jochemczyk
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Short Story
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: Franz Kafka; University; Academy; ruins; crisis

Summary/Abstract: The idea of the university was never a significant context for researchers of Franz Kafka work. It was the other social institutions that became the natural source of allusive recognition of literary scholars (court, insurance company, imperial state office). In this sketch – written on the margins of Kafka’s famous short story: Report for the Academy – we are trying to change it. The university (title: Academy) here becomes a “central object of criticism”, an institution in ruins, a place where one does not practice research and does not perfect humanistic virtues. On the contrary, it is a space where the “gate of perception” and „critical thinking” are consistently closed – as a tribute to the particular game of interests. In the worst case – the effect of the Academy’s impact becomes destruction resulting from training and humiliation.

  • Issue Year: 59/2020
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 9-28
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Polish