MVV422K Franz Kafka: The Trial

Faculty of Law
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/1/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Paul Von Blum (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
prof. JUDr. Ing. Michal Radvan, Ph.D.
Faculty of Law
Contact Person: Mgr. Věra Redrupová, B.A.
Supplier department: Faculty of Law
Timetable of Seminar Groups
MVV422K/01: Tue 18. 3. 16:00–17:40 041, Wed 19. 3. 10:00–11:40 041, 12:00–13:40 041, Thu 20. 3. 16:00–17:40 041, Fri 21. 3. 10:00–11:40 041, 12:00–13:40 041, P. Von Blum
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 30/30, only registered: 35/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 59 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was one of the most powerful literary figures of the 20th century. A lifelong resident of Prague, he wrote in German and was educated there, receiving a law degree from the German branch of Charles University in 1906. He worked throughout his short adult life as a practicing lawyer at the Workmen’s institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia in Prague. As a lawyer, he helped to bring about improvements in accident prevention for workers, among other responsibilities. Throughout his legal career, he wrote numerous documents beyond his literary masterpieces. I will read some short excerpts from his legal writings to reveal his technical knowledge and understanding of the law of his era. He was also fluent in Czech.

This mini-course is a follow-up to my earlier course on Kafka and the Law. There, we addressed several of Kafka’s shorter writings in order to introduce Kafka in a law school setting and explore some of his themes that relate to law, the legal process, the judiciary, and the legal profession.

In the earlier course, it was not possible to delve into Kafka’s classic novel The Trial because of the limitations of time. Here, however, the entire focus will be on that iconic work of literature. Franz Kafka, of course, addressed themes far beyond the law, and this course will touch upon some of them briefly, but most are beyond the scope of the present course.
Syllabus
  • Initial Themes: We will begin with an overview of how literature is powerful source material for social, political, and legal analysis. Literary works, like the humanities in general, are valuable additions to the law school curriculum. I will identify several writers who addressed courts, legal processes, and the legal profession in their literary works. This sets the context for our treatment of Kafka’s Trial.
  • I will briefly summarize some of his shorter works that address legal and related themes, including “In the Penal Colony,” “In the Penal Colony,” and “Metamorphosis.” These works address issues including the horror of many legal systems, terrifying bureaucracy, human alienation, and other themes that encourage readers (like lawyers) to reflect on their own lives and their professional obligations and responsibilities.
  • Continuing Substantive Discussions: This leads us to consider the label “Kafkaesque.” This description applies to many features of modern life in the industrial world. The novel itself is an intriguing combination of a comedy, a satire, an allegory, a legal and political critique, and much more. We will then focus more specifically on the central and related questions: What is the “Law?” What is the “Court System?” What is the “trial” being conducted against the central character K? Those issues will be part of our discussions in class.
  • As our class sessions continue, we will look closely at the text. We will consider how the central character, Joseph K., is caught in the Law’s grip and how he is eventually crushed by it. A key issue is his “presumption of guilt,” the opposite of the American and many other legal systems where criminal defendants are, formally, presumed innocent until proved guilty. Class discussions will focus on the text of the novel but also on its wider implications.
  • Throughout our sessions, we will consider the indifference of the judicial personnel that Kafka portrays in the novel as well as and K’s lawyers like Dr. Huld. We will also discuss how so much of the law—both criminal and civil––has become unknowable and bureaucratic and entirely bewildering to ordinary people. What, then, does all this mean for lawyers and prospective lawyers? How can they work to improve communication for their clients and therefore the quality of their lives?
  • Final Discussions The course will conclude with the horrific but inevitable ending,” Discussions will center around not only about the predetermined sentence for the main character of the novel, but the deeper implications for people (feeling or otherwise) trapped in the frustrating and mysterious bureaucratic legal, governmental, and commercial institutions. All of these are typically beyond their understanding, and lawyers can either worsen the situation or improve it.
  • We will discuss those questions and concerns, while urging students, more fundamentally, to make personal observations about their own lives and responsibilities in light of Franz Kafka’s literary observations.
Literature
  • Any edition of The Trial will be acceptable for this mini-course, in English, German, or Czech. I will be using my hardback edition from the Modern Library. Please read it in full.
Teaching methods
Lectures, discussions.
Assessment methods
You will write an essay of approximately one-page in the final class session, offering your personal reactions to whichever materials or topics we have covered in class that you find most important or personally engaging. NOTE: THIS MAY POSSIBLY BE DONE OUTSIDE CLASS ONLINE, GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION TIME. You will have wide latitude here and you may draw on any of the materials in The Trial we have covered, including the initial discussion or any of Kafka’s works you may have read on your own. Regular and punctual attendance at all class sessions is also required.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught only once.
Teacher's information
COURSE DISCUSSIONS:

These comments are based on my previous experience teaching here for many years. It has been an exciting and very satisfying experience.

I would like to encourage maximum student discussion, even if we don’t cover all the material in this short course description. My view is that it’s more educationally valuable for you to take an active role than to “cover” material that you could easily forget soon after the course finishes. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you would like; there really are no “bad” questions. I will try to speak clearly in English and if there are any words or concepts you don’t understand, please let me know immediately. Also, I am available after class for any personal discussion as much as possible and I will do my best to answer emails promptly, as I do at UCLA.

Email: pvonblum@ucla.edu

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