September 29, 2026

Wilderness Treasures with William L. Sullivan

William Sullivan is the author of many books and articles about Oregon. In this talk, moderated by John Witte, he will discuss the many wilderness treasures of the Upper McKenzie region in Oregon.

This event is supported by a Mini Grant for Libraries from Oregon Humanities.

2:00 p.m., O'Brien Memorial Library, Blue River

October 3, 2026

Saturday Scoundrels

What makes a good answer to a question?

Being correct seems important, but is that enough? What makes a response useful, illuminating, persuasive, or worth continuing to think about?

This week, Scoundrels considers what we are doing when we respond to one another, with some help from Habermas, Dewey, and Wittgenstein.

Scoundrels is Philosofarian’s weekly philosophical conversation. Bring your curiosity. No reading or philosophy background is required.

10:00 a.m., The Catalyst, Astoria

October 3, 2026

Preservación de nuestra cultura y tradiciones

Reflexionemos sobre la Importancia de la identidad cultural latina, el uso de la lengua nativa y la preservación de las tradiciones y costumbres. Esta conversación es para personas que han emigrado de países hispanohablantes, o descendientes de inmigrantes (hasta la 3ra generación) que están interesados en reconectarse con su cultura. Aquí compartiremos historias y vivencias sobre el nivel de conexión que aún tenemos con nuestras raíces, y finalmente reflexionaremos sobre qué podemos hacer para reconectarnos en caso de que exista tal añoranza.

3:30 p.m., Jefferson County Library, Madras

October 4, 2026

To What Do We Pledge?

While the opening of the Declaration of Independence gets the fanfare and the fireworks—“When in the course of human events” and all that—the closing clause contains a quiet promise: “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” When we talk about the founding, we often think of it as a severing from a distant power and a proclamation of individual rights. And yet, buried in that big individualistic origin story, there is a pledge of support, solidarity, and mutual aid. Today, as we witness political violence, hostility, and polarization, this conversation invites us to explore what it means for us to be bound to one another and to ask ourselves: Is there any idea, any value, any dream for the future that we care about enough to tie ourselves to one another to protect or pursue it? What would it mean to “mutually pledge” ourselves to one another today? What would it look like? Feel like? Is it even possible?

Facilitator Wendy Willis is the founding director of Oregon's Kitchen Table, a statewide community engagement program housed at Portland State University. She is also a poet, an essayist, a stitcher, and a self-proclaimed democracy geek. Wendy was raised in Springfield, but now lives with her family in Portland.

11:30 a.m., Oregon Jewish Museum & Center for Holocaust Education, Portland

October 7, 2026

Otherness as a Gateway to Empowerment and Empathy

Otherness is the state of being different from the members of a group. Whether we are talking about us mammals, us Oregonians, or us bird-watchers, anyone who is not part of us is part of the other. How does otherness shape our sense of identity and our perception of others? In this conversation, we will reflect on our personal experiences of belonging to uncover the universality of otherness and examine how we can use empathy to bridge the divides in isolated communities and foster the acceptance of diverse voices. This exploration of otherness aims to cultivate empathy for both ourselves and others, leading to a more inclusive understanding of our identities and those around us as well as exploring otherness as a form of strength and our own uniqueness.

6:00 p.m., Cedar Mill Community Library, Portland

October 8, 2026

Reflective Conversation Training (in-person)

During this in-person facilitation training, participants will:

• learn about facilitation and reflective conversation
• have an opportunity to practice new skills and techniques
• reflect on and share your own beliefs and assumptions and listen to beliefs, backgrounds, and experiences different than your own
• design and participate in reflective conversations and debriefs that analyze facilitation tools and choices.

This training will take place in the Oregon Humanities office in Portland (610 SW Alder St., Suite 1111) over the following days:

• Day 1: Thursday, October 8, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Day 2: Friday, October 9, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

To register for the October in-person training, click here.

In-person trainings are limited to the first twelve to sixteen people to sign up. Over the course of two days, we’ll spend our time together talking in large and small groups, in small to mid-sized rooms. We’ll provide coffee and tea and a light lunch on both days.

9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Oregon Humanities, Portland

October 10, 2026

Saturday Scoundrels

Can nonhuman intelligence ever be understood by humans?

We encounter forms of intelligence that do not think, perceive, communicate, or inhabit the world as we do. Animals see colors we don’t, dance maps, and sense the magnetic fields of the planet. Plants eat light and can call the predators of their own pests. And Artificial intelligence pushes us to consider what we actually mean by the word “intelligent.” What would it mean to understand an intelligence whose way of knowing may be fundamentally unlike ours?

Scoundrels is Philosofarian’s weekly philosophical conversation. No special expertise required. Just come ready to think with other people.

This project is funded in part by a grant from Oregon Humanities.

10:00 a.m., The Catalyst, Astoria

October 13, 2026

Tell It In 400 Words: Posts Writing Circle with Write Around Portland

Join Write Around Portland and Oregon Humanities for a free 90-minute writing circle on writing short-form personal narrative. Oregon Humanities’ Posts section is dedicated to short narrative essays built around personal stories and anecdotes. Guided by Write Around Portland facilitator and Oregon Humanities editor Alexandra Silvester, we’ll explore this economical form and how a tight word limit can help to sharpen focus and heighten emotional impact.

6:00 to 7:30 p.m., Multnomah County Library - East County Branch, Gresham

October 14, 2026

Are We Created Equal?

This conversation will explore equality. It is a core national value of the United States, even if we have not always lived up to that value. What does it mean to say, as the writers of the Declaration of Independence did, that “all men are created equal” and to declare that this is a self-evident truth? In what ways are or should we be equal? How does this ideal of equality show up in our daily lives, our communities, and our politics? How, finally, has this ideal of equality changed over the past 250 years—and how might it change further over the next 250?

This conversation will take place in the Fred Meyer Lounge.

4:30 p.m., Linfield University, McMinnville

October 15, 2026

Pleading the Fifth: A Conversation About Self and Liberty

The Fifth Amendment has long been hailed as the ultimate safeguard of individual civil liberty against the authoritarian power of the state. It gives us the right to “due process of law” when charged with a crime. It protects us from “double jeopardy" or being prosecuted twice for the same crime. And it says we cannot be forced to incriminate ourselves, giving us the right not to answer questions that would suggest we have committed a crime. Do we still value the guarantees of the Fifth Amendment today? It is supposed to protect us from being forced to bear witness against ourselves. Can a person be truly safe from themselves in this place and time?

6:00 p.m., Eugene Public Library, Eugene