Luncheon lectures allow public to sample professors’ research

The College of Arts and Sciences and the Liberal Studies Project offer the monthly Meet the Professor series to highlight the college’s research and cultural offerings.

The Thursday luncheon talks begin at noon in the University Club. Reservations are required, with $15 payment in cash or check. To reserve a spot, contact Janna Tajibaeva at 502-852-2247 or janna@louisville.edu no later than the Monday before each event.

Here are the spring 2016 semester talks:

• Jan. 14 – “Is the World a More Dangerous Place? Thoughts on Risk, Disasters and Climate Change,” David Simpson, urban and public affairs department chair and Center for Hazards Research director. He will discuss how the U.S. experience with large-scale natural disasters has changed the approaches to handling hazards and how the need to adopt a sustainability and resiliency perspective is influencing policy.
• Feb. 4 – “Literary Relics: Charlotte Bronte’s Hair, Percy B. Shelley’s Skull and Emily Bronte’s Black Sofa,” Deborah Lutz, Thruston B. Morton professor of English. She has written widely about the authors, material culture and collecting and will talk about the meaning of certain objects belonging to famous literary figures and how they were treated in 19^th century Britain.
• March 3 – “Promoting Mental Health in Nursing Homes: Research Stories,” Suzanne Meeks, psychological and brain sciences department. She will discuss her 15-year research program into late-life mental health, including depression and other disorders in long-term care facilities, and the promotion of well-being for patients; her work has attracted funding from the National Institute of Mental Health.
• March 31 – “Crossing Borders: Rites of Passages for Soldiers of the Early Modern Period,” Daniel Krebs, history professor. He will talk about military life in the 16^th-18^th centuries in Europe and America, where journeys to cross any types of borders were tricky and often perilous.