History is still relevant, say organizers of a new community lecture series that begins Thursday.

Thomas Bender of New York University will open the series "Why History Matters: Rethinking History in a Global Age," 7:30 p.m. Thursday, at the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbott Road. He will explain the causes and effects of major historical developments.

There will be a brown-bag seminar addressing the LaPietra Report and its affects on curriculum reform at noon Friday in Room 340 Morrill Hall.

The lecture series is sponsored by MSU's Department of History and the Center for Integrative Studies in Arts and Humanities. The second and third lectures in the series will run in March and April.

For more information, call (517) 355-7500.