2:54 p.m., Feb. 14, 2008--The Black American Studies Program “Brown Bag” lecture series for the spring semester will begin Monday, Feb. 18, with a lunchtime talk by Theodore Davis, associate professor of political science and international relations at UD. The five-lecture series will cover topics ranging from “black” politics to the use of hip-hop in literacy programs.

The free talks, which typically last a little more than 30 minutes and are open to the public, run from 12:15-1:10 p.m., Mondays, and are held in Room 206 of the Trabant University Center. Each lecture is followed by an open discussion, and participants are encouraged to bring bagged lunches to enjoy with colleagues.

The following is the lineup.

Monday, Feb. 18: “Patterns of Public Opinion Among Blacks: A Question of Consensus in the Socioeconomic Transition of Black Politics,” by Davis.

Monday, March 17: “Hip-Hop at the Crossroads: The Logic of Hip-Hop Literacy and the 'Invisible' Tradition of Reading and Writing in Hip-Hop Composition,” by Shuaib Meacham, associate professor of education at UD.

Monday, April 14: “Virginia's Racial Integrity Fight: The DuBois-Garvey Debate,” by Arica Coleman, assistant professor of Black American Studies at UD.

Monday, April 21: Topic to be announced. Lecture by Colette Gaiter, associate professor of art at UD.

Monday, May 12: Topic to be announced. Lecture by Elizabeth Higginbotham, professor of sociology at UD.

For more information on the series or any of the lectures, call (302) 831- 2897.