The Summersell Center is pleased to cosponsor with the Department of American Studies a talk by Lois Leveen, author of the Civil War novel “The Secrets of Mary Bowser,” the story of a slave girl turned Union spy during the Civil War. Leveen, an academic and novelist, based her novel on true events. “History is often passed on to the public as much through novels and movies as through historical texts,” Lynne Adrian, chair of the UA American Studies department, said in a release. “What better way to discuss questions of race, gender and the war than through the fascinating story of an African-American woman spy in the heart of the confederacy? I know (Leveen) will bring a new level of interest for students to what seem to be ‘old’ questions.”