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Welcome back to The Invisible College, my series of literature courses for paid subscribers. The introduction to and schedule for the 2026 season is here. The 2024 and 2025 archives are here. This episode, of which the first 10 minutes are free, is the second in a four-part sequence on Thomas Mann’s novel The Magic Mountain. We further examine the novel’s philosophy of time; discuss its critique of Enlightenment progress and vision of cutting-edge technology (x-rays, cinema) as a paradoxically archaic, atavistic, and magical phenomenon; explore its Orientalism (especially as applied to Russia) and eroticism; consider its thesis on life as a sexual excitation and disease of matter; and more. Please like, share, comment, and subscribe! The slideshow corresponding to the episode can be downloaded behind the paywall: