The 1998 fall University Forum lecture series concludes Nov. 13 with a lecture by Harvard English professor Robert Brustein on "The Decline of Serious Culture."

Brustein, who is also the artistic director of the American Repertory Theatre and director of the Loeb Drama Center, will discuss the differences between "high culture" and "popular culture," focusing on literature, publishing, art, and theater.

His lecture will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Classroom Building Complex, Room A-112, on the UNLV campus. All University Forum lectures are free and open to the public.

Brustein, who is considered one of the most influential and versatile -- as well as often controversial -- figures in American theater, is the drama critic for The New Republic. He is also the author of 11 books on theater and society, including Reimagining American Theatre, The Theatre of Revolt, Who Needs Theatre, and his latest book, Dumbocracy in America.

He has written three plays and 11 adaptations of such plays as The Father, Ghosts, The Changeling, and a trilogy of plays by Pirandello. He has supervised close to 200 productions, acted in eight, and directed 12. His latest play, "Nobody Dies on Friday," premiered this year at the American Repertory Theatre.

Brustein is a recipient of the George Polk Award in journalism, the Elliot Norton Award for professional excellence in Boston theater, the 1995 American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts, and the New England Theatre Conference's 1985 Annual Award "for outstanding creative achievement in the American theatre."

The University Forum lecture series is sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and underwritten by the UNLV Foundation. Brustein's lecture is cosponsored by the Nevada Humanities Committee, the state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Mirage Resorts, Inc.

For additional information on the series, call 895-3401.