Ateneo - UPO

Faust: from the origins to the 20th century

• J. Spies, Storia del dottor Faust, ben noto mago e negromante. Know the general lines of the plot that are derived from the index (pp. 187-191) and read: the title-page, pp. 15-31, 72-75, 152-156, 164, 171, 180-186. It will be available on DIR.
• T. Mann, Doctor Faustus. La vita del compositore tedesco Adrian Leverkühn narrata da un amico, trad. it. di L. Crescenzi, Milano, Mondadori, 2017. Students have to know the general lines of the plot and to read the following chapters: 1, 2, 5, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 25, 30, 36, 44 - 47, epilogue.
• The excerpts from works by authors such as Lessing, Goethe and Grabbe will be made available on DIR.

Through face-to-face teaching and self-study activities, the course aims to enable students to develop the ability to outline the development of the Faust myth with particular reference to the motif of the pact with the devil, relating it to different historical and cultural contexts. More advanced objectives are to provide students with the necessary skills to process the information received during the course into a critical discourse that is able to relate literary epochs, authors and texts and to make critical considerations, including personal ones, on the works examined, developing the ability to analyse the central themes of the course.

For students NOT in the second year: Fair knowledge of the German language.
During the lessons all texts read in German will be translated into Italian. Students who do not have to be examined in German will therefore be able not to miss anything. The same goes for second year non-attendants.

Lectures, critical reading, translation and commentary on texts, use of multimedia materials.

Critical literature and further information will be provided at the beginning of the course.
The registration on DIR is required.
Plaese check the teacher's page on Upobook regularly.
Non-attending students are requested to contact the teacher in order to get their detailed program by mail. The preparation of the non-attendance program is necessary in order to obtain the 6CFU foreseen for the module, which also includes either the 30 hours of lectures or the reading of substitute materials to be carried out in an equal number of hours.
Please read the texts before we will analyze them in the lessons, so you will be able to better understand the explanations and to participate in the discussion.
Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities
Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Oral examination in Italian and, for students NOT in the second year, also in German with questions on the following topics:
- the historical and cultural context of the various approaches to the Faust myth and the ability to focus on the salient features of the texts that will be analysed.
Second year students: 40% of the evaluation.
Students NOT in the second year: 35% of the evaluation. Questions will be asked in German concerning the parts of lectures taught in this language - 20% of the German skills evaluation.
- the ability to analyze and interpret texts, to express critical judgements, including original ones, to develop a specific critical discourse on single authors or texts linked to the central issues of the course - Second year students: 60% of the weight of the evaluation. Students NOT in the second year: 45% of the evaluation.
Evaluation will base on the ability to outline the basic lines of the course, on the knowledge and comprehension of texts and writers, on the skill to relate the main issues and the analyzed literary works also referring to the critical bibliography, and on the ability to expose the topics clearly in Italian and for the students NOT in the second year in German as well.

The pact with the devil linked to the myth of Faust plays a central role in Western culture because of its ability to take on different values based on the needs and characteristics of each age. The investigation of the literary origins of this myth and the study of the metamorphoses that characterize it will allow − on the basis of hints to some of the most significant literary works from the Voksbuch of 1587 to Thomas Mann’s Doktor Faustus − to highlight the structural, stylistic and thematic peculiarities of the texts and will show the potential of the Faust myth, that is ductile and full of meaning in every age.

In order to attain the knowledge and skills corresponding to the minimum sufficiency level, students are required to demonstrate
Knowledge and ability to analyse the topics dealt with and the texts analysed
Ability to explain the central topics clearly, with references to the historical, cultural and literary context of the works and with an appropriate critical vocabulary in Italian, and for students not in the second year, also in German.