Oregon Humanities, formerly known as the Oregon Council for the Humanities, is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities for the U.S. state of Oregon.
Description and history
Oregon Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the federal agency of the U.S. government established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 to support research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The organization was established as the Oregon Council for the Humanities in 1971 as one of the Oregon Cultural Trust's five partners. Its mission is to "connect Oregonians to 'ideas that change lives and transform communities, and its vision is "an Oregon that invites diverse perspectives, explores challenging questions and strives for just communities". Oregon Humanities is supported by grants and through partnerships with libraries and organizations such as Adelante Mujeres, which empowers low-income Latinas, the Portland Children's Museum, and Portland Playhouse. The organization has also partnered with Cambia Health Solutions. Adam Davis became Oregon Humanities' fifth executive director in 2013, replacing Cara Ungar. NEH profiled Davis in their November–December 2015 issue of Humanities. Robert Arellano, an author, musician, and educator who teaches at Southern Oregon University and created its Center for Emerging Media and Digital Arts in 2010, joined the affiliate's board of directors in January 2016.
Programs and activities
Oregon Humanities' programs include: Oregon Humanities Magazine; "Conversation Projects", a series of facilitated discussions hosted by a local business, community group, or nonprofit organization on a subject relevant to their members; "Humanity in Perspective", a free college-level humanities course offered to low income adults without a college education; "Idea Lab", a three-day "residential institute" for Oregon high school teachers and students to "explore the pursuit of happiness through workshops, lectures, films, and discussions"; "Think and Drink" events, hosted quarterly; and "Public Program Grants". According to its website, other Oregon Humanities programs are "Responsive Program Grants", a series of "community conversations about place, power, home, and belonging" called "This Place", and other collaborative projects and workplace and community services. The organization's activities are intended to initiate public discourse about controversial topics such as economic inequality and Oregon's land use and wilderness policies. The success of Oregon Humanities' events has allowed the affiliate to create work groups in rural parts of the state. "Humanity in Perspective" was created in collaboration with Reed College and has been offered in Portland, Salem, and the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. Between 2008 and 2012, Oregon Humanities also supported "annual teachers' institutes at which secondary and high school teachers study with leading scholars on such important humanities topics as immigration in the United States, the history and future of work, and the cultural legacy of modern science". In March 2015, the organization debuted "Future: Portland", a video inspired by Ifanyi Bell's essay in the "Quandary" issue of Oregon Humanities about the challenges of growing up black in Portland. The video, which was produced by Bell and Brushfire Creative Partners with funds provided by the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, addresses gentrification and features local black civic leaders sharing their perspectives, describing the loss of the city's black communities, and expressing their hope for cultural restoration.
Conservation Projects
The "Conversation Projects" series "brings Oregonians together to discuss their differences, beliefs and backgrounds about important issues and ideas". According to the Oregon Culture Trust, the series "offers Oregon nonprofits free, educational public discussion programs about important topics that affect our daily lives". Its stated goal is to "give diverse communities statewide—neighbors and strangers alike—the opportunity to engage in humanities-based, public conversations that are timely and relevant". Discussions are facilitated by "humanities scholars—artists, community leaders, innovators, provocateurs, and other engaged thinkers", having been recruited by Oregon Humanities. The organization seeks facilitators who are "smart, passionate about ideas, able to listen to others, and curious-individuals who understand the role of the humanities in the public sphere, but who are also teachers at heart, regardless of their day job". In 2014, Oregon Humanities hosted "Why Aren't There More Black People in Oregon?", which addressed the history of racism in Oregon, as part of its "Conversation Projects" series. In November, Portland Center Stage hosted "What Do You Do? Work and Worth in America" to discuss the meaning of wage labor. During March–May 2016, Linfield College hosted events addressing diversity, including: "White Out? The Future of Racial Diversity in Oregon", "Northwest Mixtape: Hip Hop Culture and Influences", and "Mind the Gaps: How Gender Shapes our Lives".
