The Brown Bag Luncheon Series sponsored by the University of Mississippi Center for the Study of Southern Culture continues this spring with several diverse topics. All lectures are at noon Wednesdays in the Tupelo Room of Barnard Observatory and are free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, Eric Weber, UM associate professor of public policy leadership, discusses his latest book, “Uniting Mississippi: Democracy and Leadership in the South.” Weber examines Mississippi’s apparent Catch-22, namely the difficulty of addressing problems of poverty without fixing issues in education first, and vice versa.

Since the approach to addressing poverty has for so long been unsuccessful, Weber reframes the problem.

“These difficulties can be overcome if we look at their common roots and if we practice virtuous democratic leadership,” Weber said. He offers theories of effective leadership in general and of democratic leadership in particular to show how Mississippi’s challenges could be addressed with the guidance of common values.

Other lectures in the series this month are:

• Feb. 10, publisher, professor, author and editor Ralph Eubanks discusses “Photography and Writing: How Visual Art Influences Narrative.” The Mississippi-born author lauded for works about race, civil justice and Southern culture is serving as the Eudora Welty Professor of Southern Studies at Millsaps College.

• Feb. 17, Dave Tell, who teaches history and the¬ory of rhetoric courses on American public discourse in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas, discusses “The Emmett Till Memory Project.”

The Details

Visit southernstudies.olemiss.edu/ for more information about events at the center.