A new class “Manifestations of the Faustian Bargain in Literature from the 16th Century to the Present” will be offered by Jens Kruse on Thursdays at 11 a.m. beginning March 5, at the Orcas Library. Kruse is a professor of German Emeritus at Wellesley College.

The term “Faustian Bargain” has recently gained increased currency in newspapers and magazines. Somehow journalists and writers seem to feel a need to resort to that concept as they try to report on what they observe in the world around them. So it might be useful to explore the origins and the meaning(s) of that term and concept by reading and discussing at least some of the texts that have shaped and reshaped the Faust legend over the last five centuries or so.

The course will probably have 11 weekly meetings of 90 minutes in the Community Room. You may enroll by signing up at the Orcas Island Library, or by sending an email to jkruse@wellesley.edu. There is an enrollment cap of 18. The course fee (for copying costs and an eventual donation to the Library) is $40.