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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A luncheon lecture series this winter and spring will feature University of Louisville researchers who map the world, analyze Middle Eastern politics, scrutinize drama and film and examine the philosophy of art and literature.

           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 by 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 2017 semester talks:

Jan. 12 – “Why is the Muslim Brotherhood So Good at Winning Elections in the Middle East?” Steven Brooke, political science professor. He will discuss why Islamist parties so consistently outperformed opponents in elections since Arab Spring and will draw on his fieldwork in Egypt, original surveys of Egyptians and new internet-based geographic data.

Feb. 2 – “Art and ‘Terrible Truth’,” John Gibson, philosophy professor and Commonwealth Center for the Humanities and Society director. He will highlight ways in which literature, painting and music make life tolerable while revealing it at its worst, as people delight in viewing the tragic and horrible from an aesthetic viewpoint.

March 2 – “Harold Pinter, Robin Williams, Somnabulants and Galloping Horses,” Ann Hall, chair of comparative humanities. She will examine time and gender as she discusses the 1982 Harold Pinter play “A Kind of Alaska” and the 1990 Robin Williams film “Awakenings,” both based on neurologist Oliver Sacks’ work with catatonic patients.

 April 13 – “From People to Pixels: Mapping Global Population Patterns with the WorldPop Project,” Andrea Gaughan and Forrest Stevens, geography and geosciences professors. They will talk about their work to generate human population maps that are easily accessible so international and government agencies can use them for work such as hazards risk managements, disease control and economic and environmental planning and intervention.

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