GMST 104. Velociferic Tendencies: Goethe and the Arrival of the Modern Age


This seminar familiarizes students with arguably the greatest German writer whose literary works revolutionized German poetry, drama, and the novel. Often regarded as the founder of German classicism, Goethe's literary writings, spanning over six decades, defy easy categorization. Texts read in the seminar include the early drama Götz von Berlichingen and the influential epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, the classical drama Iphigenie auf Tauris, the novels Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre and Die Wahlverwandtschaften, early essays on Shakespeare and Gothic architecture, poetry from all periods of his life, and, of course, Faust. We will also look at Goethe's scientific ideas (morphology of plants and theory of optics) and his philosophical and economic worldview.
This class can also be taken as a 1 credit class. 
Humanities.
2 credits.
Spring 2024. Werlen.
Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: German Studies  
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/german-studies


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