Oregon Humanities

"Conflict" series at Oregon Humanities Center

Oregon Humanities is proud to cosponsor the 2011-12 “Conflict” series at the University of Oregon’s Oregon Humanities Center. From now until May 2012, OHC will offer film screenings and lectures focusing on this theme in Portland and Eugene. The schedule is as follows; more information is available at the OHC website, or at (541) 346-3934 or by e-mail.

• November 4, 2011, 7:30 p.m., 180 PLC, University of Oregon, Eugene
  World film premiere of In the Telling, which tells the story of how twelve military veterans and their families decide that it’s time to speak, and in doing so, they start a movement. This film will also show on November 5 and 6 at Bijou Art Cinemas, 492 E. 13th Ave, Eugene.

• November 15, 2011, 7:30 p.m., 182 Lillis Hall, University of Oregon, Eugene
  Cressman Lecture: “The Mother of All Conflicts—Infinite Economic Growth vs. a Finite Planet,” by Paul Gilding, author of The Great Disruption: Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring On the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New World.

• March 6, 2012 (time and location TBD)
  Clark Lecture: Doug Peacock, naturalist, outdoorsman, and author of Grizzly Years: In Search of the American Wilderness and Walking it Off: A Veteran’s Chronicle of War And Wilderness.

• April 12-13, 2012 (time and location TBD)
  O’Fallon Lecture: Linda Chapman, director, Art Therapy Institute of the Redwoods.

• May 15, 2012 in Eugene and May 16, 2012 in Portland (time and location TBD)
  Kritikos Lecture: “A Decade of War,” by Andrew J. Bacevich, professor of international relations and history at Boston University and retired career officer in the U.S. Army. Bacevich is the author of Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War (2010) and The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism (2008).

01 November 2011 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Know Your Place Summer Series

This summer, Oregon Humanities is teaming up with Metro Regional Government in a special series, Know Your Place, an exploration of human relationships to nature through language, movement, and observation. Please join us on the last Saturdays in July, August, and September for three events that will bring provocative artists and writers in beautiful locales in Clackamas and Washington Counties. The Oregon Lottery is a generous cosponsor of this series.

These events are free but advance registration is required.

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30 July 2011 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Brown Bag Lunch Panel with Melissa Harris-Perry

Melissa V. Harris-Perry (pictured), professor of political science at Tulane University, MSNBC contributor, columnist for the Nation, and author of Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought, will appear on a brown bag lunch panel with Lisa K. Bates, assistant professor in the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University, and Donna Maxey, co-creator and sponsor of the McMenamins Kennedy School’s Race Talks series, to discuss race and housing. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at noon on Thursday, June 23 at the Gerding Theater at the Armory Cafe, 128 NW 11th Ave., in Portland. The panel is cosponsored by Oregon Humanities and the Portland Housing Center.

03 June 2011 | Permalink | Comments? (4 so far)

Mercy Corps Action Center's Tuesday University on Russia and the Caucasus in Literature and Film

The Mercy Corps Action Center series Tuesday University returns in May with Willamette University professor Sarah Clovis Bishop exploring Russia and the Caucasus region as seen through literature and film. Register online at Brown Paper Tickets for this weekly course, which meets each Tuesday evening in May from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. at the Mercy Corps Action Center, 28 SW 1st Ave, Portland. Clovis Bishop will discuss the writings of Pushkin and Tolstoy as well as classic Soviet comedies and films by banned Chechen directors, including Sergei Parajanov, from whose film The Color of Pomegranates the above still photo is taken. This event is cosponsored by Oregon Humanities.

04 April 2011 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

New Brown Bag Lunch Series Begins in February

Oregon Humanities and Portland Center Stage have collaborated on Shop Talk, a brown-bag lunch series that pairs thespians with humanities thinkers to explore provocative ideas in PCS’s current season. All discussions are free and open to the public. No registration is required. Programs will be held from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the cafe at the Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 NW 11th Ave., Portland. Participants can bring their own lunch or preorder box lunches from the cafe (see information below).

• Wednesday, February 2: Join Futura playwright Jordan Harrison and Aaron Schmidt, digital initiatives librarian for the District of Columbia Public Library, in a conversation about the future of the book.

• Friday, March 4: Rose Riordan, director of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Jan Haaken, Portland State University psychology professor and documentary filmmaker, will discuss mental illness on stage and in society.

• Wednesday, April 20: Opus cast member Matthew Boston and writer, artist, and jazz drummer Tim DuRoche will discuss music, creativity, and chemistry.

• Friday, May 6: Join Bust playwright and actress Lauren Weedman & Back Fence PDX coproducer B. Frayn Masters in a conversation about memoir, truth, and fame.

The following box lunches can be preordered from the cafe. E-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) by 9:00 a.m. of the day of the event. Write “Preorder” in the subject line, and be sure to include your first name. Payment will be collected at pick-up.

• Turkey sandwich, with our house-made aioli, lettuce, tomato, and cheddar cheese: $8
• Egg salad sandwich served on Franz Old Fashioned® White Bread: $7
  Both of the above will be served with either a house salad or chips (choice of balsamic vinaigrette or ranch dressing).

• Large Garden Salad, with organic mixed greens, diced cucumber, diced tomatoes, fresh avocado, sliced bell peppers, grated Parmesan cheese, sunflower seeds.Your choice of ranch or balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Served with a slice of Grand Central Baking Como Bread and butter: $8

Use the following codes for a $5 discount on tickets for the respective production (not valid with any other offer, student tickets, or previously purchased tickets. Seating subject to availability):
Futura = “LIBRARY”
Cuckoos = “RATCHED”
Opus = “STRINGS”
Bust = “WEEDMAN”

06 January 2011 | Permalink | Comments? (3 so far)

Everybody Reads 2011 Event with Author of The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates

In December 2000, the same Baltimore newspaper that lauded Wes Moore’s Rhodes Scholarship also reported on another Wes Moore—this one on the lam after a botched armed robbery that ended with a slain police officer. While one young Baltimorean studied at Oxford, became an elite U.S. Army paratrooper and served as Special Assistant to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, the other served a life sentence in prison. The coincidence of the shared name led the high-achieving Moore, who was named one of Ebony magazine’s “Top 30 Leaders Under 30” for 2007 and _Crain’s New York Business_’ “40 Under 40 Rising Stars” in 2009, to think about what might have been—for both men.

Moore, the writer, struck up a correspondence with his jailed counterpart, leading to the book The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, which is the Multnomah County Library’s Everybody Reads 2011 selection. He discovered that both Wes Moores were fatherless, and both had early run-ins with the law and trouble in the classroom. “The chilling truth,” Moore writes, “is that my story could have been his. The tragedy is that his story could have been mine.” The author will tell both men’s stories in a special event presented by Literary Arts and Multnomah County Library on Monday, March 7, 2011, at 7:30 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (1037 SW Broadway, Portland). Oregon Humanities is a cosponsor of the event. Visit the Literary Arts website for more information and to purchase tickets.

02 December 2010 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Oregon Humanities Partners with Portland Center Stage on An Iliad Programs

Oregon Humanities is partnering with Portland Center Stage to cosponsor two special events in conjunction with the production of An Iliad.

• Oregon Stories of War are innovative performances in which military veterans, after interviews and subsequent training and rehearsal, have staged the “telling” of their stories for our community, on Mondays, November 1, 8, and 15, at 7:00 p.m. at PCS’s Ellyn Bye Studio Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., Portland. This event is cosponsored by the Telling Project and Oregon Humanities.

• War: What Is It Good For is a panel on war and art as a tool for understanding war and its aftermath, in conjunction with its production An Iliad, on Sunday, November 7, following the 2:00 p.m. matinee (approximately 3:45) at PCS’s Ellyn Bye Studio Theater, 128 NW 11th Ave., Portland.

Panelists include Barry Sanders (author of The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of Militarism and writer-in-residence at Pacific Northwest College of Art); writer and army-wife Sarah Gilbert; Nigel Nicholson (professor of classics, Reed College); and artist-writer Kirsten Rian (who has taught poetry to boy-soldiers in post-war Sierra Leone). Moderated by Tim DuRoche of the World Affairs Council. The panel is free and open to the public.

Participants to either event are encouraged to take advantage of a special $5 discount to An Iliad. Mention this offer for phone orders (503-445-3700) or use redemption code TROJANS to order tickets online. This offer is good for any Tuesday through Sunday performance (October 1 to November 21). This offer is not good with any other offer, student tickets, or previously purchased tickets. Seating subject to availability.

06 October 2010 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Mercy Corps Action Center Tuesday University Is Back

Oregon Humanities is pleased to once again cosponsor Mercy Corps Action Center’s Tuesday University, which begins with the four-part fall seminar History of Islam in America, led by Reed College professor of religion and humanities Kambiz GhaneaBassiri. The class takes place on four Tuesdays, from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m., October 26, November 2, 9, and 16, 2010, at the Mercy Corps Action Center, 28 SW 1st Avenue, Portland, Oregon, 97204.

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30 September 2010 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Haiti Expert Robert Maguire Discusses the Country's Rebuilding Opportunities

World Affairs Council of Oregon presents “Building Haiti Back Better,” a conversation with Robert Maguire about the country’s opportunities for economic and political renewal, on Wednesday, May 26, 2010, from noon to 1:30, at the Oregon Historical Society, Madison Room (third floor), 1200 SW Park Ave, Portland. Oregon Humanities is a cosponsor of this event.

How can reconstruction address the collapse of state institutions that had occurred long before the buildings collapsed? Will the flight back to rural villages of a quarter of a million Port au Prince residents be leveraged to build rural infrastructure and reverse urban migration? Can the energy of Haiti’s large, frequently disaffected youth, be harnessed to drive renewal? Join Maguire, of Trinity University and the U.S. Institute of Peace, to examine these questions and more.

Tickets are $20 for World Affairs Council members and $25 for non-members. Register for the event at the World Affairs Council website.

21 May 2010 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Oregon Humanities & Mercy Corps Action Center Present Tuesday U: What is Afghanistan?

Oregon Humanities is pleased to cosponsor with the Mercy Corps Action Center the first of its Tuesday University series on global topics.

“Tuesday U: What is Afghanistan?” is a four-part seminar exploring Afghanistan’s past, culture, and people. Events will be held on May 4, 18, and 25, and June 1. For more information and to purchase tickets for the series, visit the Mercy Corps website or call (503) 896-5002. Tickets for individual events may be purchased over the phone or in person. Visit the Mercy Corps Action Center at 28 SW 1st Ave., Portland.

13 April 2010 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Oregon Poet Laureate Call for Nominations

Do you know a bold and articulate voice for culture across the state? Oregon’s Cultural Partners are now accepting nominations for Oregon’s next Poet Laureate.

The role of the Poet Laureate is to foster the art of poetry, encourage literacy and learning, address central issues relating to the humanities and heritage, and reflect on public life in the state. Nominees should be recognized for excellence in their work and widely considered to be a poet of stature, have a significant body of published work, can agree to the period of the appointment, and be committed and prepared to undertake this public role.

Nominations must be sent to the Oregon Cultural Trust by 4:00 p.m. on Monday, February 15, 2010. Visit the Oregon Poet Laureate website to download the call for nominations.

19 January 2010 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Free tickets to lecture by New York Times Environmental Reporter Andrew Revkin

Ecotrust is sponsoring a lecture by Andrew Revkin, New York Times environmental reporter, on November 10, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. at Portland State University’s Smith Memorial Ballroom. Tickets are free and available now from the PSU Box Office. Revkin will talk about the natural and human challenges of supporting a population that’s expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, and he’ll talk about how we can restore certain environmental conditions and create a more resilient future. Oregon Humanities is proud to be one of several cosponsors of this event.

24 September 2009 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Mercy Corps Action Center Kicks off Series with Author Tracy Kidder

Oregon Humanities is pleased to cosponsor with the Mercy Corps Action Center a lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder, who will discuss his latest book, Strength in What Remains, on October 13, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. This event is part of a celebration of the Mercy Corps Global Headquarters grand opening in Old Town Portland and will be held in the Mercy Corps Action Center Community Room (enter at 45 SW Ankeny Street).

Tickets for this event are sold out, but if you are a fan of the Oregon Humanities Facebook page, or become one by October 12, you’ll be entered in a drawing to win free tickets.

21 September 2009 | Permalink | Comments? (2 so far)

Bread & Circuses

A look through the lens of Frost/Nixon that considers how politics and entertainment, power, and truth, media, and public memory have been transformed in the intervening years since Watergate featuring nationally syndicated radio host Thom Hartmann, the Oregonian’s David Sarasohn and Jack Ohman, and moderator Al Stavitsky, director of the University of Oregon’s Turnbull Center at the School of Journalism and Communication.

This free event is sponsored by Portland Center Stage, Oregon Council for Humanities, and University of Oregon’s Turnbull Center

18 April 2009 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Four Questions: Virtue, Community, Love, and Justice in the Theater

A series of lively conversations about questions that have inspired and confounded great thinkers and writers through the ages, presented in cooperation with Portland Center Stage.

Over the course of four weeks, registered participants, led by facilitators, discussed four questions using scenes from four plays: Spinning into Butter by Rebecca Gilman, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel, and Radio Golf by August Wilson.

Four Questions is based on OCH’s Humanity in Perspective, a free public course in the humanities for low-income adults.

Four Questions: Virtue, Community, Love, and Justice in the Theater, Gerding Theater at the Armory, Portland, April 2007

A series of lively conversations about questions that have inspired and confounded great thinkers and writers through the ages, presented in cooperation with Portland Center Stage and Reed College.

Over the course of four weeks, registered participants, led by Reed College professors, discussed four questions using scenes from four plays: Oedipus Rex, Antigone, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Crucible.

Four Questions is based on OCH’s Humanity in Perspective, a free public course in the humanities for low-income adults.

06 April 2009 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Private lives in the public eye

In response to the controversy surrounding Portland Mayor Sam Adams, OCH invited the public to attend a free panel on politics, ethics, and the media: “Private Lives in the Public Eye.” The event was sponsored by the Oregon Council for the Humanities, in partnership with the George S. Turnbull Portland Center of the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication and the City Club of Portland’s Agora Committee.

This event addressed the broader ideas of privacy, ethics, and the media, with the intent of offering the public opportunities to critically reflect upon and analyze these divisive issues.

Panelists included the following: Tom Bivins, John L. Hulteng Chair in Media Ethics at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication; Caitlin Baggott, director of Politicorps, a program of the Bus Project, a nonprofit political organization; Robert Eisinger, associate professor and chair of the political science department at Lewis & Clark College; and Mark Zusman, editor of the Willamette Week. The panel was moderated by Peter Steinberger, dean of the faculty of Reed College and Robert H. and Blanche Day Ellis Professor of Political Science and Humanities.

05 January 2009 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Podcasts for Commonplace Series events now available.

Commonplace Series events were offered throughout Oregon between 2006 and 2008. For this series, OCH engaged public scholars as lecturers, panelists, and facilitators to explore provocative issues that were of special interest to a particular Oregon community, but that also resonated on statewide and national levels. With each event, OCH aimed to spark community conversations, both as part of the event and on an ongoing basis as a result of the questions and ideas raised. All events were free and open to the public.

Some past Commonplace events were published as limited-run chapbooks, which can be purchased for $5 apiece online at the OCH Store or by calling (503) 241-0543. They can also be downloaded as PDFs and, when possible, as MP3 sound files.

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08 September 2008 | Permalink | Comments? (1 so far)

On Principle

In 2006-07, OCH worked with Oregonians in Astoria, Lincoln City, and Eastern Oregon on a reading and discussion series called On Principle, which focused on five core principles of democracy: individual freedom, equality, economic opportunity, justice, and civic engagement. The program offered citizens the chance to explore important hallmarks of American democracy in a forum where everyone is welcome to participate. On Principle was designed to encourage a variety of viewpoints, active participation, and careful listening. The fall 2006 issue of Oregon Humanities was also address the program’s five core principles.

View On Principle microsite

03 December 2007 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

A Voice in the Crowd: The Art Exhibit and the Citizen

OCH offered this free, public lecture on the public art exhibit and civic life by William Ray, Reed College professor of French and humanities.

21 October 2005 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Four Questions for Humanity

This four-part reading and discussion series explored questions of fundamental importance to the citizens of a democracy: What is the relationship between an individual and his or her community? What is the nature of love and desire? What is the relationship between power and justice? What is the role of knowledge in virtuous actions? Guided by faculty from Reed College in Portland, participants looked at the ways in which these questions have been explored in ancient Athens and modern America, and discussed how we, as reflective citizens, can answer these questions in our own time.

Four Questions for Humanity is based on Humanity in Perspective, a course OCH has offered for the last four years to adults living in poverty in Portland. OCH is partnering with the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton to bring a HIP course to inmates. In addition, OCH offered this condensed lecture series to interested members of the Pendleton community.

03 October 2005 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Allegiances: A Public Conversation

In commemoration of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Multnomah County Library, City Club of Portland, and Oregon Council for the Humanities held a town meeting to discuss the values and ideas that define Americans. “Allegiances: A Public Conversation” was facilitated by poet and essayist Kim Stafford and State Senator Margaret Carter.

11 September 2005 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

Belonging to the Rest of the World: Shakespeare's Message of Hope

OCH offered this free, public lecture by Agnes Wilcox, artistic director of Prison Performing Arts in St. Louis, Missouri, on the power of theater to change people’s lives.

12 May 2005 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)

The Truth of the Barnacles: Rachel Carson and the Moral Significance of Wonder

In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of Rachel Carson’s The Edge of the Sea, OCH presented this free, public lecture by Oregon State University professor of philosophy Kathleen Dean Moore.

04 March 2005 | Permalink | Comments? (0 so far)