The Many Faces of Faust

Jon Clark

An alchemist, necromancer, and astrologer, Faust was one of the most colorful figures of the 16th Century. He became legend through literature, plays, puppet shows, opera and more recently music and movies. He stood for the wayward soul, who was damned for his lack of faith and his pact with the devil. He was redeemed in Goethe’s Faust, and Thomas Mann made him complicit in Nazi crimes. This course will explore these many adaptations of Faust and the different historical ages and cultures they come from, while at the same time trying to understand the values and issues that inform our own identity. OC