Goethe’s Children

Catalog description

The name “Goethe” looms large over modern German literature, but what are founding figures without the daughters and sons that question and challenge their authority? This course offers a broad introduction to Goethe’s life and works, focusing on themes and questions of youth and childhood in his writings. Readings include canonical works such as The Sorrows of Young Werther, Iphigenia in Tauris, Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, Faust , and Elective Affinities . We will also examine Goethe’s legacy by looking at musical, theatrical, and philosophical responses to images of youth and childhood in his works. [Taught in German; all students welcome.]