2015–16 Conversation Project Catalog

The Conversation Project

2015 – 2016 Catalog

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Table of Contents

Oregon Humanities

Conversation Project

The Conversation Project offers Oregon nonprofit and community organizations low-cost, humanities-based public discussion programs about provocative issues and ideas. If you’d like to host a Conversation Project event, please read “How to Host a Conversation Project Event” on page 29. Questions? Call (503) 241-0543 or (800) 735-0543, ext. 123 Oregon Humanities connects Oregonians to ideas that change lives and transform communities. Our vision is an Oregon that invites diverse perspectives, explores challenging questions, and strives for just communities. More information about our programs and publications, which include the Conversation Project, Think & Drink, Humanity in Perspective, Idea Lab Summer Institute, Public Program Grants, and Oregon Humanities magazine, can be found at oregonhumanities.org.

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What Is the Conversation Project?

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Beyond Human? Science, Technology, and the Future of Human Nature

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Beyond the Scoreboard Sports in Our Lives and Communities

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From Saving to Serving On Intervening in the Lives of Others

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Going Solo The Value of Solitude in a Social World Good Food, Bad Food Agriculture, Ethics, and Personal Choice

17 Northwest Mixtape Hip Hop Culture and Influences 18 Too Busy to Rest Boundaries and Balance in a Nonstop World 19 Understanding Disability Family and Community Stories 20 We Are What We Eat Connecting Food and Citizenship 21 What Do You Do? Work and Worth in America 22 What Is Education for? 23 What We Want from the Wild

10 Grave Matters Cultural Diversity on Life and Death

24 White Out? The Future of Racial Diversity in Oregon

12 In Science We Trust? The Role of Science in a Democracy

25 Why Play Matters Promoting Health and Creativity for Kids and Adults

13 Keeping Tabs on America Surveillance and You

26 A World without Secrets Privacy and Expectations in the United States

14 Life after War Photography and Oral Histories of Coming Home 15 Lost and Found Community in the Age of the Internet 16 Mind the Gaps How Gender Shapes Our Lives

28 Program Themes 29 How to Host a Conversation Project Event 31 Frequently Asked Questions 34 Federal Certification

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Oregon Humanities


What Is the Conversation Project? The Conversation Project brings Oregonians together to talk—across differences, beliefs, and backgrounds—about important issues and ideas. It works like this: a local nonprofit, community group, or business applies to host a Conversation Project program on a topic relevant to their community. An Oregon Humanities facilitator comes to that community to lead the conversation, which lasts from an hour to an hour and a half. The Conversation Project has more than twenty topics to choose from at any given time, ranging from the ethics of food to government surveillance to the future of racial diversity in Oregon. Our facilitators are trained to connect their topic to the local community and to challenge participants to think in new ways. Our goal is to connect people to ideas and to each other, not to push an agenda or arrive at consensus. We believe that conversation is a powerful medium to invite diverse perspectives, explore challenging questions, and strive for just communities. Interested? Take a look at the program descriptions on pages 5–26, then read the section “How to Host a Conversation Project Event” on page 29 of this catalog. You can also find all of this information online at oregonhumanities.org.

2015– 2016 Programs

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Oregon Humanities

Leader video Press release

In the future, will technology fundamentally change what it means to be human?

Resource list Leader bio

Beyond Human? Science, Technology, and the Future of Human Nature Throughout history, religious scholars and philosophers have debated what makes humans unique in the animal kingdom. More recently, evolutionary biologists and cognitive scientists have contributed new thinking to our ideas about human nature. Has the essence of what it is to be human shifted over time? How might science and technology—such as recent rapid advances in bioengineering and other fields—challenge and reshape our understanding of what it means to be human? Prakash Chenjeri, an associate professor of philosophy at Southern Oregon University, will lead participants in a thoughtful conversation about these questions and more.

Prakash Chenjeri is an associate professor of philosophy and director of the Philosophy Program at Southern Oregon University, where he has taught since 1995. His research and teaching interests focus on topics related to the role of scientific literacy in modern society and ways to engage in thoughtful dialogue about these and other issues.

Email [email protected]

Telephone (541) 552-6034

Location Talent

Program themes: The Human Condition Technology Equipment needs: Digital projector, screen, microphone, laptop computer

Prakash Chenjeri

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Oregon Humanities


Why do sports matter?


Beyond the Scoreboard: Sports in Our Lives and Communities Americans devote huge amounts of time and attention to sports and physical activities ranging from tiny tot tee ball and round-up rodeos to Friday night football and Blazermania. Some see sports as opportunities for building character and community identity as well as for contributing to the local economy. Others see the very same activities as distractions from more important community matters. Can both these seemingly contradictory perspectives be true? This conversation, led by University of Portland associate professor and sports enthusiast Andrew Guest, will address the many ways sports matter in our lives and communities.

Andrew Guest is an associate professor of psychology and sociology at the University of Portland, where he has taught since 2004. He has a background as a coach and athlete in locales ranging from suburban Portland to urban Detroit to rural Malawi. His recent research has included spending time with high school basketball and soccer teams in the Portland area to learn about extracurricular participation and youth development in distinct community contexts. Email [email protected]

Telephone (503) 943-7348

Location Portland

Program themes: Community and Civic Life Work and Play Equipment needs: Digital projector, screen, laptop

Andrew Guest

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Oregon Humanities


How should we think and talk about our efforts to make positive change?


From Saving to Serving: On Intervening in the Lives of Others Many of us try to make a positive difference in the world through our work and volunteering, and we often find that this can be difficult. The language of helping reflects this difficulty. Charity sounds admirable to some and offensive to others. Service can be bland, saving can be paternalistic, and social entrepreneurship can feel corporate. Join Oregon Humanities Executive Director Adam Davis for a conversation that will explore why it’s so hard to find the right words for the good work we try to do in the world. How should we think and talk about our efforts to make positive change?

Adam Davis is the executive director of Oregon Humanities. In his previous role as director of the Center for Civic Reflection, Davis designed and implemented “Justice Talking/The Meaning of Service,” a nationwide discussion program for AmeriCorps, VISTA, and other service organizations. Davis has given keynotes and published articles on service, volunteering, and leadership, and facilitated workshops at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. Email [email protected]

Telephone (503) 241-0543, ext. 114

Location Portland

Program themes: Community and Civic Life The Human Condition Justice Meaning and Values Equipment needs: None

Adam Davis

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Oregon Humanities


What is solitude worth?


Going Solo: The Value of Solitude in a Social World In today’s busy world, many people struggle to find solitude and to be comfortable with it when they do. Why is solitude peaceful for some and punishment for others? How does solitude help—and hinder— our creative and intellectual endeavors? This conversation will explore the value of solitude and consider questions such as, Is our understanding of what it means to be alone evolving? How does our experience of solitude, or lack thereof, affect our relationships and communities? How does place affect our experience of being alone, and how is our identity shaped by solitary reflection?

Jennifer Allen was director of programs at Oregon Humanities from 2004 through 2014. She earned a BA in English literature from Mount Holyoke College and an MA in literature at Portland State University. Her graduate research focused in part on the cultural impacts of technology, which sparked an ongoing interest in the challenges of solitude in our busy and connected lives.


Telephone (503) 282-5224

Location Portland

Program themes: The Human Condition Meaning and Values Technology Equipment needs: None

Jennifer Allen

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Oregon Humanities


How do we choose what to eat?


Good Food, Bad Food: Agriculture, Ethics, and Personal Choice Oregon boasts a multibillion-dollar agricultural economy that includes both industrial agriculture and small-scale efforts such as community supported agriculture memberships, farmers markets, and community gardens. These smaller, community-based efforts are on the rise as means to nurture community and create local and autonomous food systems. In this conversation, author Kristy Athens will ask participants to think about the impact of their food choices. Are these choices as consequential as consumers would like them to be? Does “voting with your dollars” significantly shape our agricultural systems?

Kristy Athens has an MS in food systems and society from Marylhurst University. She is the author of Get Your Pitchfork On!: The Real Dirt on Country Living. In 2014, she received an Oregon Literary Fellowship from Literary Arts. Her nonfiction and short fiction have been published in a number of magazines, newspapers, and literary journals, and she has been a regular contributor to HandPicked Nation. Email [email protected]

Telephone (503) 701-7316

Location Enterprise

Program themes: Ethics Meaning and Values Equipment needs: Laptop, digital projector, screen, chalk/whiteboard

Kristy Athens

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Oregon Humanities


Can acknowledging our mortality bring greater meaning to life?


Grave Matters: Cultural Diversity on Life and Death

Courtney Campbell is the Hundere Chair in Religion and Culture and a professor in the School of History, Philosophy, and Religion at Oregon State University. His teaching and research interests focus on ethical issues in medicine, religious ethics, concepts of peace and war, theories of death and dying, and theologies of embodiment. Campbell serves on the board of directors for Benton Hospice and the ethics committee for Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. Telephone (541) 737-6196

Equipment needs: Chalk/whiteboard, screen, microphone

Courtney Campbell

Contemporary American culture is commonly portrayed as death-denying or death-defying. However, other cultural traditions understand our mortality as a teacher about living a purposeful life. This conversation explores these different cultural understandings—including “death online,” Mexico’s Día de los Muertos, indigenous traditions in Africa, death goddesses, and Asian understandings from Tibet to Cambodia. Conversation participants discuss these perspectives through video, song, humor, short readings, and other activities.


Program themes: The Human Condition Meaning and Values

Location Corvallis

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Oregon Humanities


How can we use science to make better decisions together?


In Science We Trust? The Role of Science in a Democracy

Gail Wells was born in Oregon and has lived here for most of her life. She has written about all kinds of things, but mainly scientific and historical topics, for more than thirty years. Midway through her career she completed a graduate degree in scientific and technical communication at Oregon State University and now makes her living as a science communicator. Telephone (541) 760-3070

Equipment needs: Microphone, digital projector, screen

Gail Wells

Americans have more confidence in scientific and medical leaders than in leaders of any group except the military, according to National Science Foundation polls. However, the relationship between citizens and science is often fraught with misunderstanding and mistrust, especially on topics like climate change. Why is our relationship with science so complicated? Why do we mistrust a field for which we profess respect? Science writer Gail Wells asks participants to consider the role of science in guiding policy and how citizens can use science to make better decisions together.

Email gailwellscommunications@ comcast.net

Program themes: Ethics Meaning and Values

Location Corvallis

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Oregon Humanities


What are the uses and dangers of surveillance?


Keeping Tabs on America: Surveillance and You

Kristian Williams has studied state surveillance for almost twenty years, writing as both a scholar and a journalist. He is the author of Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America; American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination; and Hurt: Notes on Torture in a Modern Democracy. He is one of the editors of Life During Wartime: Resisting Counterinsurgency, as well as an occasional contributor to Counterpunch, Toward Freedom, and In These Times. Telephone Please email

Equipment needs: Microphone, chalk/whiteboard

Kristian Williams

Recent revelations about government surveillance, including Edward Snowden’s leak of NSA documents, have renewed worldwide attention to questions around surveillance. What are the uses of surveillance? What are the dangers? Why is privacy important? Independent scholar and writer Kristian Williams will lead participants in a conversation about the scope and consequences of government surveillance, as well as ethical and legal limits of surveillance practices.


Program themes: Ethics Justice Privacy and Surveillance

Location Portland

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Oregon Humanities


What are the responsibilities of a community that sends its citizens to war?


Life after War: Photography and Oral Histories of Coming Home

Jim Lommasson is a freelance photographer and writer living in Portland. He received the Dorothea Lange–Paul Taylor Prize from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University for his first book, Shadow Boxers: Sweat, Sacrifice & the Will to Survive in American Boxing Gyms. His most recent book is Exit Wounds: Soldiers’ Stories—Life after Iraq and Afghanistan.

Telephone (503) 939-1939

Equipment needs: Digital projector, screen, microphone

Jim Lommasson

When does a war end? Does it ever? Many returning soldiers bring wars back with them, and these wars can reach beyond the battlefield or firefight, infiltrating the very thing that defines comfort and safety: home. The trials of homecoming are vast and complex, often resonating with tales of Odysseus’ journey back to Ithaca from the Trojan War. Photographer Jim Lommasson has collected oral histories from returning soldiers and documented their struggles at home. In this conversation, participants will consider the wars at home faced not only by returning veterans, but also by communities at large.


Program themes: Community and Civic Life The Human Condition

Location Portland

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Oregon Humanities


How does technology both connect and disconnect us?


Program themes: Community and Civic Life Technology Equipment needs: Digital projector, screen Program available in: Spanish

Lost and Found: Community in the Age of the Internet Many social theorists agree that community life has been transformed by communications technologies. Is community disappearing or strengthening as we gaze at smartphones, video games, online movies, and web pages? How do these technologies both connect and disconnect us? Where online do we engage deeply with friends, family, and neighbors alike? Tod Sloan, a professor at Lewis & Clark College, will lead participants in a discussion about how our sense of community is created, eroded, and transformed in the age of the Internet.

Tod Sloan is a professor of psychology in the Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling in Portland, Oregon. He was trained in a field known as personality theory, which addresses fundamental questions about human nature. Sloan is fluent in Spanish and has taught in universities in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. In Latin America, he often experienced the power of community dialogues and is committed to enhancing such practices in Oregon. Email [email protected]

Telephone (503) 928-2779

Location Portland

Tod Sloan

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Oregon Humanities


How does gender affect our daily lives and identities?


Mind the Gaps: How Gender Shapes Our Lives

Jade Aguilar is an assistant professor of sociology and women’s and gender studies at Willamette University. Her broad areas of study are gender, sexuality, and family, and her main area of focus is the study of intentional communities. Her current research is on how women age together in community, and she is interviewing lesbian women living in Southern Oregon and in senior cohousing communities. Telephone (503) 370-6195

Equipment needs: Digital projector, screen, laptop, audio speakers/sound system

Jade Aguilar

From the moment we are born, gender shapes every aspect of our lives: our interests, opportunities, and how we move through the world. In the twenty-first century, disparities among the genders still prevail, especially at the intersections of race, class, immigration status, and geography. What can these disparities tell us about society’s values and priorities? How can we better understand the complex ways gender affects our daily lives and identities? Jade Aguilar, an assistant professor of sociology and women’s and gender studies at Willamette University, will lead participants in a conversation about these questions and examine ways of finding meaning within gender gaps.


Program themes: Justice

Location Portland

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Oregon Humanities


What makes Pacific Northwest hip hop unique?


Northwest Mixtape: Hip Hop Culture and Influences

Donnell Alexander is a storyteller and editor who coproduced the 2009 animated short Dock Ellis & the LSD No-No and authored the memoir Ghetto Celebrity (2003) as a personal, elongated addendum to the 1997 essay “Cool Like Me: Are Black People Cooler than White People?” He has served as a staff writer at LA Citybeat, ESPN: The Magazine, LA Weekly, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and the Chico News & Review. Telephone (503) 258-7907

Equipment needs: Digital projector, screen, laptop computer

Donnell Alexander

The Pacific Northwest has a relationship with hip hop culture that is complex and, on occasion, commercially exceptional. Its influences have quietly and broadly affected language, fashion, art, and local life in ways that are not always recognized by mainstream audiences. In this conversation, journalist and author Donnell Alexander takes a look at the secrets behind hip hop in the Pacific Northwest. He will look at what makes Pacific Northwest hip hop unique, provide context for the history that brought mainstays such as Sir Mix-ALot, Cool Nutz, and Macklemore into being, and explore how hip hop has influenced social, artistic, and political life in the region.


Program themes: Power and place

Location Portland

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Oregon Humanities


What does it mean to rest?


Too Busy to Rest: Boundaries and Balance in a Nonstop World In America today, ask someone, “How are you?” and “busy” is a common response. Despite all of the digital devices designed to save time, many people still feel there is never enough. In an age when 24/7 connectivity, productivity, and efficiency often take priority, the boundary blurs between work and non-work, prompting the question, What is rest in our fast-paced, everconnected world? Independent scholar Lisa Naas Cook will lead participants in a conversation that explores what rest means to people, whether it’s a basic human right, and how adequate time for rest relates to equitable and sustainable communities.

Lisa Naas Cook has an MA in applied theology from Marylhurst University and a BS in natural resources from the Ohio State University. Her graduate work focused on the universal wisdom that the Jewish Sabbath offers for personal and planetary well-being in the modern world. Lisa writes and leads programs about sacred rest, intentional technology use, and the Universe Story in Hood River, Oregon. Email [email protected]

Telephone (541) 515-8161

Location Hood River

Program themes: The Human Condition Meaning and Values Technology Work and Play Equipment needs: None

Lisa Naas Cook

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Oregon Humanities


How is the disability community viewed?


Understanding Disability: Family and Community Stories

Jill Crawford Hurt is a proud member of the disability community. As the second of three generations to share a hereditary neuropathy, she devotes her personal and professional life to disability advocacy. She holds a master of rehabilitation administration degree from the University of San Francisco. Her professional experience includes facilitating community advocacy and youth peer support activities and serving as director of a parent advocacy organization. Telephone (503) 269-4942

Equipment needs: Digital projector, screen, microphone, assistive listening device

Jill Crawford Hurt

The disability community accounts for 12 percent of the US population and almost 14 percent of the population of Oregon. All Oregonians are influenced by the disability community, whether as individuals with a disability or as family members, friends, or allies of someone with a disability. Join writer and activist Jill Crawford Hurt in an exploration of our experiences and perceptions of this community. Participants in this conversation will look at what they know of the stories of their own family, friends, and colleagues and consider the sources of their perspectives. Whether these stories contain themes of pride, oppression, resistance, failure, or success, they offer us an opportunity to rethink our perceptions.


Program themes: The Human Condition Justice

Location Keizer

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Oregon Humanities


How can our relationship to food empower us and create deeper connections to our communities and neighbors?

Resource list

Wendy Willis

Oregon is famous for its food—for its long traditions in agriculture and fisheries, and its role in the movement to promote whole foods in communities, schools, and home kitchens. In addition to the daily practice of cooking and eating, many Oregonians also think, talk, and write about food. This program, facilitated by Wendy Willis, poet, essayist, and executive director of the Policy Consensus Initiative at Portland State University, will offer participants a chance to reflect on how our relationship to food production, preparation, and consumption might help create self-sufficiency and empowered citizenship.

Wendy Willis is a poet, essayist, and national leader in civic engagement and collaborative governance. She serves as executive director of Kitchen Table Democracy, a national nonprofit organization housed at Portland State University and devoted to improving democratic governance. Her first book of poems, Blood Sisters of the Republic, was published in 2012.

Telephone (503) 725-9091

Equipment needs: Digital projector, screen

Leader bio

We Are What We Eat: Connecting Food and Citizenship


Program themes: Community and Civic Life

Location Portland

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Oregon Humanities


How does our work shape us?


What Do You Do? Work and Worth in America

Adam Davis is the executive director of Oregon Humanities, editor of Taking Action and Hearing the Call across Traditions, and co-editor of The Civically Engaged Reader. Davis has taught classes and led workshops on the meaning of work. He has worked as a laborer in residential construction, a backcountry trail crew leader, a waiter, a burrito vendor, a teacher, a counselor, and a nonprofit administrator. Telephone (503) 241-0543, ext. 114

Equipment needs: None

Adam Davis

Americans work a lot: according to Federal Reserve Economic Data, the average full-time American employee works about 1,700 hours per year, as compared with 1,500 in France and 1,400 in Germany. Often in America, introductions begin with the question, What do you do? We lead with our work. In doing so, we suggest that what we do for work says a lot about who we are, or even is who we are. This conversation, led by Oregon Humanities Executive Director Adam Davis, looks at our assumptions about work and our sense of ourselves, and considers how our work shapes us and what marks it leaves.


Program themes: Meaning and Values Work and Play

Location Portland

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Oregon Humanities


How does education relate to citizenship, freedom, justice, and beauty?


Program themes: Community and Civic Life Justice Work and Play Equipment needs: Digital projector, screen, chalk/ whiteboard Program available in: Spanish

What Is Education for?

Alex Sager

America faces a crisis in education. In the past fifteen years, the US government has spent billions of dollars financing reforms—such as test‑based accountability, charter schools, and the Common Core—largely designed to ensure our schools produce competent workers. These policies do not address some basic philosophical questions about the nature and goals of education. How does education relate to citizenship? To freedom and the good life? To social justice? Or to a love of knowledge and beauty? By drawing on ideas about education from philosophy, Portland State University assistant professor Alex Sager will lead participants in a conversation about the role of education in American society. Alex Sager is an assistant professor of philosophy and university studies at Portland State University. His area of specialization is social and political philosophy and he has published widely on the political philosophy of migration. At Portland State University, he created the philosophy of education class and is closely involved with PSU student projects collaborating with Portland-area schools in philosophy-related education projects. Email [email protected]

Telephone (503) 725-9893

Location Portland

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Oregon Humanities


What do we understand nature to be, and how do we see ourselves fitting in?

Resource list

Adam Davis

Oregonians across the political spectrum place a high value on the diverse natural resources of our state, but we are divided about how these resources should be used and talked about. In this conversation, Oregon Humanities Executive Director Adam Davis will help participants step back from policy decisions and consider more basic questions about our relationship to the mountains, air, trees, animals, and streams around us. What do we want from nature? What do we understand nature to be, and how do we see ourselves fitting in?

Adam Davis is the executive director of Oregon Humanities. His previous roles include directing the Center for Civic Reflection, where he helped the Aldo Leopold Foundation develop their Land Ethic Leader training, and the United States Forest Service, where he led backcountry trail crews and occasionally fought wildland fire. He has taught courses and led workshops on the human relationship to nature. Telephone (503) 241-0543, ext. 114

Equipment needs: None

Leader bio

What We Want from the Wild


Program themes: Power and Place

Location Portland

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Oregon Humanities

Leader video Press release Resource list

What does racial integration require of us?

Leader bio

White Out? The Future of Racial Diversity in Oregon Although census data show Oregon’s population becoming more racially diverse, the state remains one of the whitest in the nation. Many Oregonians value racial diversity and the dimension and depth it adds to our lives, yet we remain largely isolated from one another and have yet to fulfill the vision of a racially integrated society. Willamette University professor Emily Drew will lead participants in a conversation about the challenges to creating racially diverse, inclusive communities despite the accomplishments since the civil rights era. What does the racial integration of place require of us, and how might we prepare to create and embrace this opportunity?

Emily Drew is an associate professor of sociology at Willamette University, where she teaches courses about racism, race and ethnicity, immigration, and social change. Her primary areas of research involve understanding how race and racism operate inside of institutions. Drew serves as a co-trainer of “Understanding Institutional Racism” workshops for Crossroads Anti-Racism Organizing and Training. Email [email protected]

Telephone (503) 370-6556

Location Salem

Program themes: Justice Power and Place Equipment needs: Digital projector, laptop computer, screen

Emily Drew

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Oregon Humanities

Leader photo 2 Leader video

What is the value of play?

Press release Resource list

Program themes: The Human Condition Work and Play Equipment needs: none

Leader bios

Why Play Matters: Promoting Health and Creativity for Kids and Adults “Grow up and stop playing.” Most of us have heard this admonishment in some form as we moved from youth to adulthood. But is it good advice? In our age of inactivity and frequent screen time, what are our kids learning from us about how to be healthy adults? Research shows that play and physical activity can have positive effects on children’s health, well-being, and education; they also boost health and creativity in adults. This conversation, led by play activists Jonathan Blasher and Tara Doherty, will look at the concept of play among children and adults and explore the question, What is the value of play? Please note: this session will include interactive play for all levels of ability.

Jonathan Blasher

Tara Doherty

Jonathan Blasher was born and raised in Eugene. He is executive director of Playworks, a Portlandbased national nonprofit that transforms schools by providing play and physical activity at recess and throughout the school day. Jonathan earned his BA from University of California, Santa Cruz, and MBA from the University of Oregon.

Tara Doherty is associate trainer at Playworks, where she has had the opportunity to see and participate in the positive transformation of hundreds of school communities through recess. She truly enjoys that play is an integral part of her work, and is always excited to share her experience with others.



Telephone (503) 928-8686

Telephone (503) 928-8687

Location Portland

Location Portland

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Oregon Humanities

Press release Resource list

Is the expectation of privacy still a social norm?

Leader bio

A World without Secrets: Privacy and Expectations in the United States In 2010, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg asserted that privacy is no longer a “social norm,” and yet Chief Justice John Roberts—writing for a unanimous Supreme Court—concluded last summer that the police must obtain a warrant to search individual cell phones because they “hold for many Americans the privacies of life.” In this conversation, Wendy Willis will lead participants in an exploration of the history of privacy in the United States, discuss how our principles hold up in the world of corporate information gathering and government surveillance, and ask what the costs and benefits are to living in a society where almost everything about us is discoverable and discussed.

Wendy Willis is a poet, essayist, and national leader in civic engagement and collaborative governance. She serves as executive director of Kitchen Table Democracy, a national nonprofit organization housed at Portland State University and devoted to improving democratic governance. Her first book of poems, Blood Sisters of the Republic, was published in 2012.


Telephone (503) 725-9091

Location Portland

Program themes: Community and Civic Life Equipment needs: Digital Projector, screen, wireless Internet access

Wendy Willis

Program Themes

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Oregon Humanities


Program Themes Hosting a series of Conversation Project programs on one big theme can offer members of your community opportunities for deeper engagement around topics that are important to them. We have suggested a handful of related themes below, but we encourage you to create your own based on your community’s interests. Community and Civic Life

Meaning and Values

Beyond the Scoreboard From Saving to Serving Life after War Lost and Found We Are What We Eat What Is Education for?

From Saving to Serving Going Solo Good Food, Bad Food Grave Matters In Science We Trust? Too Busy to Rest What Do You Do?

Ethics Good Food, Bad Food In Science We Trust? Keeping Tabs on America A World without Privacy

Power and Place

The Human Condition

Privacy and Surveillance

Beyond Human Going Solo Grave Matters Life after War Too Busy to Rest Understanding Disability Why Play Matters

Keeping Tabs on America A World without Privacy

Justice From Saving to Serving Keeping Tabs on America Mind the Gaps Understanding Disability What Is Education for? White Out?

Northwest Mixtape What We Want from the Wild White Out?

Technology Beyond Human Going Solo Lost and Found Too Busy to Rest Work and Play Beyond the Scoreboard Too Busy to Rest What Do You Do? What Is Education for? Why Play Matters

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Oregon Humanities


Information for Program Hosts: Please read this section carefully before applying to host a Conversation Project program.

How to Host a Conversation Project Event 1. Confirm your eligibility. Nonprofits, community organizations, and businesses in Oregon are eligible to host Conversation Project programs. Individuals are not eligible to host. For-profit companies interested in hosting workplace Conversation Project programs should give us a call; these programs tend to be customized, so a conversation is a good place to start. 2. Choose a program. Review the Conversation Project catalog and select a program or programs that you would like to request during one of three open application periods during the year: August through September, December through January, and April through May. 3. Check your local calendar. Please consult local events calendars in order to request program dates that do not conflict with other important events in your community or major holidays. 4. Contact conversation leaders. Before you apply to Oregon Humanities, contact conversation leaders directly to discuss preferred and alternate dates and times for a program request. Oregon Humanities does not maintain the calendars of Conversation Project leaders, so it is essential that you contact conversation leaders prior to submitting an application. 5. Prepare your host fee and budget for additional costs. Nonprofits and community organizations pay a small host fee of $50 per program (slightly less if you apply for more than one program at a time— see page 31 for more details); For-profit companies pay $600 per program. Additional costs may arise if the conversation leader has to travel more than one hundred miles one-way to lead the program. In those cases, hosts are required to provide one night of lodging. 6. Submit your application online. Host fees may be paid by check (made out to Oregon Humanities) or with a credit card as part of the online application. 7. Wait for approval. Please note that applications must be submitted at least six weeks before the requested program date. Allow up to four weeks for notification of approval. Until you have heard from us, do not assume the program has been approved. 8. Once approved, plan and promote the conversation(s). As part of your approval package, you will receive a template press release and ideas about marketing your Conversation Project program. The expectation is that at least ten people will attend. We require you to send us copies of your publicity materials after the event.

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Oregon Humanities


9. Submit evaluation and participant contact information. Participant contact information should be sent to us within three business days of the program; the host evaluation and publicity material should be sent within two weeks of the program. Decisions are based on Oregon Humanities’ commitment to reaching a broad statewide audience, forming new partnerships, and scheduling efficient travel arrangements for our conversation leaders. Oregon Humanities cannot guarantee that all applications will be approved. We strive to be flexible in program scheduling, so please contact Eloise Holland at (503) 241-0543 ext.123 or [email protected] if you have a conflict with our application timeline.

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Frequently Asked Questions When can my organization apply to host a program? We accept applications for Conversation Project programs according to the following time frames Organizations can apply:

For programs to take place between:

Aug. 10–Sept. 30, 2015

Nov. 1, 2015–Feb. 28, 2016

Dec. 1, 2015–Jan. 31, 2016

March 1–June 30, 2016

April 1–May 31, 2016

July 1–Oct. 31, 2016

The Conversation Project is generously supported by the following:

How much will it cost?

The National Endowment for the Humanities

Conversation Project program host fees are as follows for nonprofit organizations:

Oregon Cultural Trust

Number of conversations requested

Host fee

The Kinsman Foundation

1

$50

Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust

2

$85*

3

$125*

4

$165*

5+

$40 per request

The Standard Jubitz Family Foundation

*Please note that in order to qualify for the discounted rate, you must apply for programs at the same time. If you have any questions about the host fee or scheduling multiple programs, please get in touch with us. If conversation leaders travel more than one hundred miles one way, host organizations must offer to provide either one night of commercial lodging at the host’s expense or a home stay; it is at the conversation leader’s discretion whether or not to accept a home stay. In cases when two conversation leaders are offering a Conversation Project program, it is only expected that hosts provide one night of lodging for one leader. All lodging plans must be discussed with conversation leaders before submitting your application to Oregon Humanities and indicated clearly on the application form. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Host organizations may charge a modest admission fee (up to $5) in order to recover costs incurred by hosting the conversation (e.g., lodging, refreshments, and host fee). Please notify Oregon Humanities if your facility has an admission fee greater than $5. You may also solicit voluntary contributions to your organization at a Conversation Project program. The host fee has been instituted to sustain the program. Oregon Humanities remains committed to keeping the program accessible to all;

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Oregon Humanities


if the host fee poses a hardship for your organization, you may request an exemption on the application form. If an application is declined by Oregon Humanities or withdrawn by the host organization, Oregon Humanities will refund the fee in full. May my for-profit organization host a Conversation Project program? Yes! Your for-profit organization is welcome to host a Conversation Project program as either a private or public event. Oregon Humanities charges for-profit organizations a host fee of $600 per program. For more information, please contact Eloise Holland at (503) 241-0543, ext.123, or [email protected]. What other conditions must I meet as a host? Conversation Project programs must be open and widely advertised to the general public; programs are designed for audiences of fifteen years or older. You should apply to host a program only if you are confident you can generate an audience of ten or more participants. Oregon Humanities does not fund events that are exclusively classroom-based, part of private or members-only meetings, or for conversation leaders at their home institutions. Conversation Project programs may not be used in conjunction with fundraisers or benefits. Programs must also precede any other items on a public meeting agenda. What equipment will a conversation leader need? Descriptions in the catalog include lists of equipment that conversation leaders will need for their programs. The host is responsible for providing all required equipment. Please review equipment lists with conversation leaders when requesting programs and discuss any special challenges at your facility. The venue where a Conversation Project program takes place should have chairs that can be arranged in a circle or semi-circle; rooms with fixed-row seating are not appropriate venues. What if an approved program must be rescheduled or canceled? Please let us know as soon as possible if a program must be canceled because of inclement weather, a conversation leader’s illness, or unforeseeable circumstances. Please obtain approval from us prior to rescheduling or canceling a program; we will make every effort to accommodate these changes. What are my responsibilities after the program? All Conversation Project hosts must (1) collect participant contact information and send it back, (2) complete and return the host’s program evaluation form, and (3) send us copies of publicity materials. Participant contact information should be sent to us within three business days of the program; the host evaluation and publicity material should be sent

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within two weeks of the program. Failure to return these documents in a timely manner may affect future applications from your organization. An individual from the host organization who attended the program must complete the host’s program evaluation form. May my organization schedule Conversation Project programs outside of Oregon Humanities’ sponsorship? Yes! If you would like to host a Conversation Project program that is not eligible for Oregon Humanities funding (e.g., for a classroom, as part of a private or fundraising event, or outside of our application windows’ time frame), you can contract independently with the conversation leader. Your organization should expect to offer the conversation leader an honorarium, mileage reimbursement, meal stipend, and—depending on the distance—overnight lodging. Once you have made arrangements to host a program independently, notify Oregon Humanities of the event’s date, time, and location and we will send you the conversation leader’s program and publicity materials to help in your preparation, as well as advertise your program on our online calendar if it is a public event. You must acknowledge that the discussion is part of Oregon Humanities’ Conversation Project in public relations materials and at the event. How do I apply to facilitate a program? Requests for proposals will be issued each year in January.

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Oregon Humanities


Federal Certifications By signing and submitting a Conversation Project application, the authorizing official of the hosting organization or institution provides the applicable federal certifications regarding compliance with nondiscrimination statutes, debarment, and suspension, as outlined below. If you have any questions regarding these guidelines, please contact the Oregon Humanities offices at (503) 241-0543 or (800) 735-0543, ext. 123. Certification regarding debarment, suspension, ineligibility, and voluntary exclusion—lower-tier covered transactions, 45 CFR 1169: (a.) The prospective lower-tier participant (organization hosting a Conversation Project program) certifies, by submission an application, that neither it nor its principals is presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in this transaction by any federal department or agency. (b.) Where the prospective lower-tier participant is unable to certify the statements in the certification, such prospective participant shall attach an explanation to their application. Certification regarding nondiscrimination statutes: The applicant (organization hosting a Conversation Project program) certifies that it will comply with the following nondiscrimination statutes and their implementing regulations: (a.) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), which provides that no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity for which the applicant received federal financial assistance; (b.) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance; (c.) Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance; (d.) Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended (42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance, except that actions which reasonably take age into account as a factor necessary for the normal operation or achievement of any statutory objective of the project or activity shall not violate this statute.

2015–16 Conversation Project Catalog

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