A new public lecture series by recently-appointed NUI Galway Established Professors in the School of Humanities will commence on Wednesday, 27 January. NUI Galway's President, Dr James J. Browne, will launch the first of the series of free talks at the Galway City Museum at 7.30pm. Designed to make a case for the role of the Humanities in society today, the lectures address fundamental questions from the perspectives of English, Philosophy and History. The talks will follow a lively, informative and provocative format and will be relevant to how we think of ourselves as a society today. The first lecture, 'Literature in a Digital Age', will be given by Sean Ryder, Established Professor of English and an international authority on text-editing with new technologies. His talk will question the use of literature in the contemporary world. On Wednesday, 24 February, Paul Crowther, Established Professor of Philosophy at NUI Galway and world-renowned expert in aesthetics, will pose the question 'what is it to be free?' and address the uses of non-practical knowledge. The third and final lecture will be delivered by Steven Ellis, Established Professor of History at NUI Galway, on Wednesday, 24 March. Professor Ellis, who is a specialist in Tudor Ireland and Britain, will examine the role of political unions and partitions in early modern Ireland. This lecture series is designed to appeal to a broad audience and each 40 minute lecture will be followed by a short question and answer session. Light refreshments will be available before each lecture. The lecture series is organised by the Civic Engagement Forum of the School of Humanities. For further information, contact Karen Walsh 091-495689 or email: karenm.walsh@nuigalway.ie. -ends-