Dealing with the Devil: The "Faust" Tradition (in English)
Would you sell your soul to the devil if you could receive whatever you wanted in return? Faust made that deal for ultimate knowledge. Did he achieve his goal? Can the devil be trusted? Who wins in such a scenario: Faust or the devil? The search for knowledge and its inherent pitfalls have occupied cultures for centuries. The "Faust" Stoff emanates from a literary tradition that revolves around this search and connects it with the inexplicable forces of the supernatural. We can find "Faust" in music, literature, and the visual arts not only all over Europe, but also in the United States. This course focuses on a discussion of "Faust" in music and literature, primarily in the works of Marlowe, Goethe, Gounod, Liszt, Mann, Bulgakov, and Kerouac. 3 hrs. lect./disc.