LS 740 - Bargains with the Devil: The Faust Legend in Literature, Film, and Popular Culture

(3.00 cr.)

Narratives of a pact with the devil have 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 and featuring recent cinematic, musical, and literary versions of the devil's pact, this course explores our enduring fascination with the forbidden: evil, devil worship, witchcraft, magic, and sexuality.