Professor Ritchie Robertson gave his valedictory lecture on Tuesday 15 June 2021, to mark his retirement.
This celebration lecture was given to a small audience in person at the faculty, and live-streamed to a wider audience.
The lecture was entitled ‘Faust’s Redemption’, and looked at the last scenes of Goethe’s cosmic drama Faust, making brief comparisons with Dante and Milton. The lecture was recorded and can be viewed on the Faculty’s YouTube channel.
Chair of Faculty Board, Professor Almut Suerbaum, says: "Ritchie Robertson, the last Taylor professor and the fist holder of the Schwarz-Taylor chair of the German Language and literature, chose Goethe's Faust for his valedictory lecture on Faust's redemption, demonstrating that it is not just important within German literature, but a towering work of the Enlightenment. We are grateful to the Dieter Schwarz foundation for securing the future of the chair, and fortunate that in Ritchie Roberston, we have a colleague who has been as exceptional in his humanity and collegiality as in his scholarly distinction."
Professor Robertson said: "I was very pleased to be able to give a valedictory lecture, which let me clarify my thoughts about one of the enigmas of German literature, and now look forward to a less pressured phase of my life, in which, besides attending to my family, I hope to write at least one more book, improve my knowledge of languages (particularly Danish and Swedish), and give time to cinema and art history."