OCH News: July 2007

Young Scholars Begin Work on Projects

OCH's twelve 2007 Young Scholars kicked off their summer research projects during a two-day orientation in June.

The juniors-to-be from high schools around the state gathered at Catlin Gabel School in Portland to receive feedback on their projects, learn about research and interviewing techniques, brainstorm ideas for sources, and discuss the importance of critical thinking in humanities-based research projects. Their projects range in topic from the effects of television shows on teen identity to the examination of Orthodox Judaism in the Northwest.

Scholars will each receive a $2,000 grant and will present their projects during a public symposium at the end of August.

Library Programs Receive $7,500 Grants

OCH awarded $7,500 Public Program Grants to two exemplary community reading and discussion programs: Lake Oswego Public Library for "Lake Oswego Reads" and Multnomah County Library Foundation for "Everybody Reads."

OCH Public Program Grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations in Oregon for programs that explore the humanities in engaging and participatory ways. Guidelines for the fall 2007 grant cycle are now available as a PDF. OCH encourages applications from a broad range of organizations, including those that may not typically define their mission as being based in the humanities. Letters of intent to apply are due August 24.

Oregon Chautauqua Summer Schedule

As you make summer travel plans, be sure to take a peek at the OCH calendar to see what Oregon Chautauqua programs are being offered by cultural institutions around the state. Whether it's gaining insight about Kennewick Man in Sunriver, discussing the portrayal of the West in films in Condon, or learning about the state's unique religious composition in Eugene, Oregon Chautauqua programs are a good way to participate in the public humanities this summer.

And watch for new programs beginning in September. We've assembled a great lineup of presentations that run the gamut from looking at the history of our region through obsidian to understanding Oregon's identity through the Portland Trail Blazers' championship season.

Chapbook on Oregon's Russian and Ukrainian Population Now Available

University of Oregon geographer Susan Hardwick's Spring 2007 Commonplace Lecture, Far from Home: Slavic Refugees and the Changing Face of Oregon, is now available as a PDF. In her lecture, Hardwick (pictured here with OCH Executive Director Cara Ungar-Gutierrez) discusses how the Willamette Valley became home to more than 80,000 Russian and Ukrainian refugees and what their impact may be on the state.

You may also buy a limited-run chapbook of this lecture for $5 plus shipping. Past chapbooks are also available for purchase and include Matthew Stadler's At Liberty, Donald Snow's 'Round the Next Bend, Mott Greene's The Lab and the Flag, and Randy Gragg's Against Nostalgia. Please call us at (503) 241-0543 or send us an e-mail for more information.

Watch for details about the next Commonplace Lecture by Mark Trahant, editorial page editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the first Native American to head a major metropolitan daily, slated for October 26, 2007, in Portland.

Message from the Executive Director

I hope you'll have a chance to attend an OCH event or read one of our publications this summer, but here are two other ways to participate in and support the public humanities in Oregon:

1. Nominate someone to serve on the OCH board of directors: OCH is seeking Oregonians to serve on its twenty-two-member volunteer board, which is composed of persons with diverse views, from different backgrounds and educational levels, and from all parts of the state. Visit our website to read more about board member responsibilities and how to make a nomination.

2. Make a tax-deductible contribution: Last year, more than one million Oregonians benefited from our work through direct participation in one of our programs, by reading one of our thought-provoking publications, because of grants to community organizations, or as students of teachers who participated in one of our Teacher Institutes. Your gift to OCH will help ensure that Oregonians continue to have access to excellent humanities programming that can change and enrich their lives.

Sincerely,