OCH News: March 2008

Everybody Reads in Lake Oswego

Entire community invests in OCH grant-funded program

For the first two months of the year, the city of Lake Oswego was immersed in the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin, as part of the Lake Oswego Library's Everybody Reads program. Local grocers joined forces with the library to offer Pakistani tea tastings, restaurants designed menus featuring Pakistani specialties, local musicians performed traditional Pakistani music at public gatherings, and scholars offered lectures and discussions about Pakistani history and culture.

The Lake Oswego Friends of the Library was the recipient of an OCH 2007 Public Program Grant for its second annual Everybody Reads event. Organized by the library's coordinator of volunteer services, Cyndie Glazer (pictured, far right, with author Mortenson and OCH Public Program Director Carol Hickman), the program was a huge success because it was specifically designed with community investment in mind. Glazer asked local community leaders to help choose the featured title and made sure that the schedule of events extended beyond the book itself. The authors gave readings and presentations, and their involvement deepened the impact of the book and gave the community a behind-the-scenes look at the story and people involved. The Lake Oswego program offered something for everyone in the community, while still exploring rich ideas--a cornerstone of OCH grant funding.

Interested in applying for a spring Public Program Grant? The postmark deadline for letters of intent for the spring cycle is April 4. For more information or to download the grant guidelines and application, please visit the Public Program Grants page.


A Whole New World

HIP student Benita Alioth finds her outlook changed

Benita Alioth had recently been laid off from her job at a nonprofit when she read about OCH's Humanity in Perspective program in the Oregonian. She thought the program would be a good a first step to achieving her goal of educating young people who were living in poverty. Having never attended college, Benita sees HIP as a way to test the waters and determine if she wants to pursue a degree. But as one of the older HIP students at fifty-three, she certainly recognizes the inherent value of every kind of education. "I've got that saying instilled in me that you're never too old to learn. I want to learn until the day I die," she says.

The themes of inequality in Antigone resonated with her, and she says she identifies with the story's depiction of and struggle with the disparity in personal rights. "Being a woman, a minority, and also coming from poverty, I just felt [Antigone] was such a strong-willed person--she didn't have a right, but she had a choice," Benita says.

Studying ancient Greek literature has left Benita with a clear vision of what constitutes a just and good act, and how these decisions can affect society: she volunteers her administrative skills at the St. Johns Sentinel, viewing her work as her "right thing to do."

After a few months attending classes, Benita realized how HIP texts and discussions had altered her day-to-day life. "I go to the library and I just don't want to leave," she explains. "It is a whole new world. When I read the paper I find myself analyzing articles, looking for theses--my outlook has totally changed."


Commonplace Lecture Chapbook about Urban Indian Experience Now Available

OCH's Fall 2007 Commonplace Lecture, "Roads, Interstates, and the Oregon Trail," by journalist Mark Trahant, is now available at the OCH website.

In this lecture, Trahant, who is the editorial page editor for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and a Pulitzer Prize nominee, describes how the narrative of the urban Indian, though complex and unfamiliar to most Americans, is one that deserves attention. He writes, "We need narratives about Indians who move to the city for opportunity. These are people who do their jobs, raise their children, and often maintain a vibrant connection with their culture and community back on the reservation."

To purchase this or any other Commonplace Lecture chapbook ($5 each, which includes shipping), please visit the OCH online store. You can also read the version for free at the Commonplace Lectures webpage.


Longtime Public Program Director Leaves Council

Carol Hickman, who has served OCH as public program director since 2001, will be leaving the council later this month to become program director of the Nonprofit Association of Oregon, a statewide network dedicated to building public awareness of the nonprofit sector and helping nonprofits stay up to date on public policy issues.

"Although the staff is excited for Carol and the wonderful opportunity she has in front of her, we'll really miss having her depth of programmatic knowledge and experience--and sharp wit--in the office," says Executive Director Cara Ungar-Gutierrez.

While at OCH, Carol not only improved the reach and visibility of OCH's existing Oregon Chautauqua and grants programs, she also managed OCH's innovative On Principle radio and community discussion programs. An inveterate friend-maker, Carol (pictured in the Everybody Reads story above) built and sustained valuable relationships between the Council and organizations around the state.

Carol's last day at OCH is March 18. After that date, for assistance with or information about Public Program Grants or Oregon Chautauqua, please contact Annie Dubinsky, program assistant; for Four Questions, please contact Jennifer Allen, education program director. Both can be reached by email or at (503) 241-0543.


Message from the Executive Director

It seems that everywhere I go these days--restaurants, friends' homes, cultural events, work meetings, my son's daycare--people are talking about America's presidential race. This election appears to be touching each of us deeply and personally as candidates' rhetoric and media reports raise questions of identity, age, gender, race, and class. Community discussions, in turn, have focused on questioning the relevance of these issues and on making sweeping generalizations about our fellow citizens and voters (for example, creating monoliths with phrases such as the "black vote" or the "women's vote").

I wonder what would happen if we shifted the conversation and placed these issues in a broader context. We could think, for example, about how racist, ageist, or sexist language and images have shaped the last several elections. Are there other reasons why there is so much energy around this election? Are there emerging patterns that can provide a more nuanced view of our constituency groups? How does democracy work to support citizens in making good decisions?

These are all questions that the humanities compel us to ask. And you can count on OCH to offer Oregonians opportunities to engage in such conversations in the coming months--through our Four Questions program in April or through our summer Teacher Institute and Oregon Humanities, both of which will explore class in America. OCH programs will continue to help Oregonians probe important issues, and we are looking forward to doing so in even more opportunistic ways, so that we can be responsive to issues that emerge in our everyday lives.

Sincerely,

Cara Ungar-Gutierrez

© 2008 Oregon Council for the Humanities