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851-0301-11L 3 Credits DS , DR , MSC D-GESS

The Unconditionality of Knowledge: Faust in European Literature

Unbedingtheit des Wissens: Faust in der europäischen Literatur

Lecturers & Examiners: Prof. Dr. Andreas Kilcher
VVZ CR n/a

Last Updated: 2026-06-01 11:33:17

Abstract

His unconditional desire for knowledge made "Faust" the symbolic figure of the modern period. Since the Renaissance, a rich Faust-literature, ranging from Marlowe, Goethe, and up to Thomas Mann, has portrayed the highly conflictual emancipation of knowledge from theology as well as the self-assertion of a modern knowledge of nature and the human being.

Objective

Learning objectives: Faust is one of the most dazzling figures in European literature and cultural history. A pact with the devil, magic, sexual desire, power and knowledge, these are the great taboos of the medieval world, which, in 1500, the graduated theologian set out to dismantle. Through this demonstrative gesture of hubris, he became the much-disputed hero of the modern period. Since the "Historia von Johann Fausten" (1587), the wide range of Faust-literature also depicts the highly conflictual emancipation from theological knowledge in favor of an unconditional knowledge of nature and the human being that hides itself behind disciplines such as medicine, astrology and magic. Faust was thereby not only transformed into the epitome of the fortuneteller, he also became the cipher for the risky undertaking of modern knowledge as such, to which he then spectacularly fell victim in an experiment. Consequently, the course's treatment of this subject matter in the literature since the early modern period will center on the question of knowledge as it is negotiated through the Faust-figure. Initially, we shall take a look at examples from the early modern period (apart from the Faust-book from 1587, among others the drama version by Christopher Marlowe, 1589). Then we shall move on to new editions around 1800, which highlight the modernity of this norm-transcending and boundary-breaking knowledge paradigm (among others Goethe's Faust). Finally, we shall discuss Faust-figures of the 20th century, such as Friedrich Murnau's Faust movie (1926), Thomas Mann's novel, "Doktor Faustus", written in exile in 1947, or Klaus Mann's "Mephisto" (1936).

General Information

Language
German
Levels
DS , DR , MSC

Examination

Type
graded semester performance

Course Components

Type Title Time & Place Hours
lecture Unbedingtheit des Wissens: Faust in der europäischen Literatur
  • Wed 12:15-14:00 (IFW A 32.1)
  • 30.04 Date 16:15-18:00 (CHN G 42)
  • 14.05 Date 12:15-14:00 (HG E 1.2)
  • 21.05 Date 12:15-14:00 (HG E 1.2)
2 h weekly

Offered In