Between the turn of the twentieth century and the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, the way that American schools taught about "race" changed dramatically. This transformation was engineered by the nation's most prominent anthropologists, including Franz Boas, Ruth Benedict, and Margaret Mead, during World War II.

Examining how ideas about species, sexuality, and gender link to 20th- and 21st-century literary texts, this wide-ranging collection of essays explores the complicated yet evocative relationship between animals and humans within a literary context. Contributors discuss writers like Franz Kafka, J. R. Ackerley, and Yann Martel, author of Life of Pi .

Franz Kafka was the poet of his own disorder. Throughout his life he struggled with a pervasive sense of shame and guilt that left traces in his daily existence—in his many letters, in his extensive diaries, and especially in his fiction. This stimulating book investigates some of the sources of Kafka’s personal anguish and its complex reflections in his imaginary world.

Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka's visionary fiction offers an unforgettable rendering of the anxiety and alienation prevalent in 20th-century Western society. "The Trial" and "The Metamorphosis" are among the works discussed in this new collection of contemporary critical commentary on the author. This new offering from Bloom's "Modern Critical Views" includes an introductory essay from esteemed scholar Harold Bloom, a bibliography, a chronology of the author's life, and an index for quick reference. Each title in this series presents a well-rounded critical portrait of an influential writer by examining his or her body of work through eight to 12 full-length essays.