The
Devil's Pact in Literature, Music and Film (Spring 2006)
Related
Links:
Overview
of the Pilot Curriculum General Education Requirement
Current Pilot Curriculum General Requirement
Course Descriptions
This course fulfills
Category IV of the General Education Requirement.
Faculty:
Simon
Richter
Germanic Studies, Faculty
133G BEH/6203
srichter@sas.upenn.edu
215-898-7332
|
|
Meeting
Times:
| LEC |
COLL
004 401 |
M
& W |
12:00-1:00 |
| REC |
COLL 004 402 |
F |
11:00-12:00 |
| REC |
COLL 004 403 |
F |
11:00-12:00 |
| REC |
COLL 004 404 |
F |
12:00-1:00 |
| REC |
COLL 004 405 |
F |
12:00-1:00 |
| REC |
COLL 004 406 |
F |
12:00-1:00 |
| REC |
COLL 004 407 |
F |
1:00-2:00 |
Course Description:
For
centuries, but especially since the dawn of modernity, the legend of the devil's
pact has served as a metaphor for the desire to surpass the limits of human knowledge
and power at any cost. Starting with the sixteenth-century Faust Book which recounts
the story of a scholar, alchemist and necromancer who sold his soul to the devil
and extending to the most recent cinematic, musical and literary versions of the
devil’s pact, this course offers an exploration of our enduring fascination
with the forbidden.
Among the course’s real temptations are:
-
a (ma)lingering reading of Goethe’s Faust,
one of the classics of world literature
- discussion
of seven outstanding films involving a devil’s pact including Angel
Heart and Rosemary’s Baby
- discussion
of the novel Mephisto which links the legend of the devil’s pact with
Hitler and the Nazi regime
- a
session devoted to blues legend Robert Johnson who supposedly sold his soul
to the devil
- an
encounter between the devil, coyote, and rock and roll in American Indian
writer Sherman Alexie’s Reservation Blues
- clips
from other films and popular culture such as The Simpsons, South Park and
Bedazzled
Those who register for this course are guaranteed an enticing blend of intellectual
and cultural titillation, a substantial acquaintance with the wide-ranging popular
legends of the devil’s pact, and an opportunity to explore some of the
burning questions of our time.
Students must register for both the lecture and a recitation.
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