Events

Guest Lecture (Professor Christian Weber: “Goethe’s Poetic Realism: Metamorphosis and Mephistopheles”

Posted on April 14, 2022

The Department would like to invite you to an in person lecture by Professor Christian Weber (Florida State University) entitled “Goethe’s Poetic Realism: Metamorphosis and Mephistopheles” on Thursday, April 21st, 4-6 PM, Munk School, 1 Devonshire Place, Room 108N (see below for abstract and short bio, poster attached). We are very much looking forward to seeing you at the event! Christine Lehleiter Associate Professor of German Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures University of Toronto Abstract: In societies, the real becomes an issue either as a symptom of crisis when a catastrophic revolutionary event disrupts the normalcy of reality or at a period of stagnation when social norms and cultural forms have become so rigid that humans strive to break through the symbolic order in order to experience life again with physical intensity and emotional intimacy. In response to the Christian orthodoxy and rationalist ideology of his youth and to the scientific and political revolutions later in his life, Goethe’s quest for the real turned to nature and to his own poetic talents. This presentation will characterize Goethe’s distinct notion of poetic realism not as a literary concept but as both a method of constructive inquiry and a method of ... Read More »