Events in the news this week.

Thomas Mann is the subject of a four-day international symposium opening Wednesday at UC Irvine. The famed German author, recipient of the 1929 Nobel Prize for literature, wrote “Buddenbrooks,” “The Magic Mountain,” “Joseph and His Brothers” and “Doctor Faustus.”

During the conference, UCI’s library will unveil a newly acquired Mann collection of more than 9,000 monographs, letters, photographs and tape recordings involving Mann and his family. The university also will stage a concert centering on Mann’s “Dr. Faustus.”