OCH Programs > Commonplace Lectures
The Oregon Council for the Humanities has offered programs and resources for learning and enjoyment to communities, schools, and individuals throughout Oregon for more than twenty-five years. Thanks to support from public and private sources, OCH programs are offered free of charge to nonprofit organizations, schools, and individuals.
Commonplace Series
Commonplace Series events are offered three times each year--in February, June, and October--at different locations throughout the state. For this series, OCH engages public scholars as lecturers, panelists, and facilitators to explore provocative issues that may be of special interest to a particular Oregon community, but that also resonate on statewide and national levels. With each event, OCH aims 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 are free and open to the public.
Some past Commonplace events were also 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.
Past Lectures
Summer 2008
"Crossing (Class) Lines: Art, Meat, and the American Angler" delivered by Henry Hughes, Oregon Book Award-winning poet and assistant professor of English at Western Oregon University, at McMenamins Old St. Francis School in Bend on June 6, 2008.
Fall 2007
"Roads, Interstates, and the Oregon Trail" delivered by Mark Trahant, editorial page editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, at the Native American Student & Community Center on the campus of Portland State University in Portland on October 26, 2007.
Download "Roads, Interstates, and the Oregon Trail"
Spring 2007
"Far from Home: Slavic Refugees and the Changing Face of Oregon" delivered by Susan W. Hardwick, University of Oregon professor of geography, at Willamette University in Salem on May 19, 2007.
Winter 2007
"Against Nostalgia: The Roots of a New Direction for Architecture and Planning in Oregon" delivered by Randy Gragg, architecture critic for the Oregonian, at Temple Beth Israel in Portland on February 24, 2007 (photo above)
Listen to "Against Nostalgia" part 1 (about 30 minutes)
Listen to "Against Nostalgia" part 2 (about 33 minutes)
Listen to "Against Nostalgia" part 3 (about 16 minutes)
Fall 2006
"The Lab and the Flag: Science, Democracy, and a New Worldview" delivered by Mott Greene, John B. Magee Professor of Science and Values at the University of Puget Sound, at the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center in Portland on October 20, 2006
Spring 2006
"'Round the Next Bend: Pendleton, Walla Walla, and the Transformation of the Rural West" delivered by Donald Snow, visiting Mellon Professor of Environmental Studies at Whitman College in Walla Walla, at the Slickfork Saloon in Pendleton on May 19, 2006
Download "'Round the Next Bend"
Winter 2006
"At Liberty: A Town's Story and a Theater's History" delivered by Matthew Stadler, novelist and former editor of Clear Cut Press and Nest Magazine at the Liberty Theater in Astoria on February 24, 2006
Next Commonplace Event
Please check back later this summer for information about our next Commonplace Event in fall 2008.