Oregon Humanities

Oregon Scholars Kick Off First Season of Oregon Humanities' Conversation Project

Sixteen scholars from around the state present seventeen programs, which nonprofits can sign up to sponsor beginning August 1, 2009.

11 May 2009 | Permalink

Sixteen Oregon scholars have been chosen for the inaugural 2009-10 season of The Conversation Project: A New Chautauqua, which connects Oregonians with public scholars and provocative ideas through idea-driven dialogue. The Conversation Project is a program of the Oregon Council for the Humanities.
The online catalog will be available this summer, and nonprofit organizations will be able to sign up for programs beginning August 1, 2009, for programs beginning November 1, 2009. For more information about sponsoring a Conversation Project program, please contact Director of Programs Jennifer Allen at (503) 241-0543, ext. 118, or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
The 2009-10 season of the Conversation Project will feature seventeen programs that span diverse topics, including friendship, the future of rural communities, media literacy, and re-imagining the American prison system. The scholars and their hometowns are as follows:
Ashland—Prakash Chenjeri (Southern Oregon University), Jeff Golden (author and radio personality), Daniel Morris (Southern Oregon University), Victoria Sturtevant (Southern Oregon University)
Corvallis—Courtney Campbell (Oregon State University), Richard Clinton (Oregon State University), Lani Roberts (Oregon State University), Gail Wells (author)
McMinnville—Jackson Miller (Linfield College)
Portland—Veronica Dujon (Portland State University), Geoffrey Hiller (photographer and multimedia producer), Reiko Hillyer (Lewis & Clark College), Walidah Imarisha (Portland State University), Joel Preston Smith (photojournalist), Elliott Young (Lewis & Clark College)
Salem—William Long (author and legal consultant)
Much like the current Oregon Chautauqua program, which runs through August 2009, the overarching goal of the Conversation Project will be to offer statewide opportunities for civic dialogue and humanities learning, but with a greater emphasis on contemporary issues, and through interactive, facilitated conversations rather than traditional scholar presentations.